Liar, Liar
by Ellie1986
Summary: What happens when the universe's most powerful psychic is charged to listen to the inside of Loki's mind? When Emma Oaks is brought from Earth to do just that, what neither of them realize is what would happen when the galaxy's most talented liar crosses paths with the one person he can never lie to. Taking place after the Avengers, I have never seen Thor 2. I own nothing! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The sunsets were beautiful on Asgard. Just as she always remembered them. Just like they always would be. Frigga stood along one alcove overlooking the kingdom. Absently running her fingers over the smooth polished marble of the column beside her. Flowing curtains of a gossamer lace moved back and forth in the slightest breeze.

However, within her, her thoughts were turbulent. Sensing her distress, Odin approached her. Abandoning the merry chatter behind him at the dining table. Thor and his friends were keeping themselves and some guests entertained with older stories of childhood. Odin could hear their laughter behind him, but his heart was tied to the woman before him. A woman he still found as breath-taking as the first moment he set eyes on her ions ago.

"What is it my love?" He whispered as he came up beside her.

Frigga lowered her gaze. "I worry for him Odin."

Odin knew immediately she meant Loki. He had not seen his son in quite awhile. Knowing he was held safe and sound in a cell several stories below them. He could feel him there, and the fading sense of well-being that seemed to grow more faded with each passing day.

"As do I." He murmured.

"There must be something we can do. He needs to heal. If he does not, what would it all have been for?"

"I agree. But I cannot see how."

They were silent for a long moment while they debated. The sounds of the supper behind them growing more and more sated and quiet. There was the sound of footsteps behind them and Odin could hear the party dispersing as the night crept up upon them. Thor and Jane stepped closer.

"Father. We are retiring for the night unless you need anything." Thor said respectfully. His booming voice had indeed grown gentler with his finding Jane. Odin remembered with clarity how different his son had been before he sent him to Earth. When his father did not answer him, Thor knew something was up. His mother and father had been very quiet tonight.

"Mother? Father? What is it?" He asked quietly. Jane sensed something was wrong as well and her face fell.

Odin turned to face his son. "It is your brother Loki. Your mother and I merely worry for him. His well-being is deteriorating rapidly. And yet, we are at a loss on how to help him heal his soul."

Thor nodded. Knowing very well what they meant. He had never felt more pain in his life than when he thought of his brother. He loved him, but also knew that Loki was never going to be the same person he was when they were children. But then again, he wished he knew back then to help stop the damage that he had helped inflict. Thor hung his head and his father touched his shoulder.

"Do not blame yourself Thor. We are all at fault for what has become of him."

Frigga felt a tear in her eye and Jane frowned. Thor squeezed her hand and gave her a weak smile. Unable to resist him, she smiled back at him and felt him relax. She knew that since the moment they met, there was something she was able to help untangle in the great man. Something her very presence helped to ease. Without her knowing, she had made Thor a better man. Odin glanced from one to the other and there was a sparkle in his blue eye that Frigga noticed at once.

"What is it?" She asked.

Thor and Jane glanced back at Odin curiously. But Odin smirked and slipped his arm around Frigga's waist. Pulling her close.

"If there is one power in this universe that causes peace in even the most turbulent of waters, it is quite underestimated. A power I had taken for granted myself many times over."

Thor cocked his head to one side. His mind spinning as he tried to come up with an answer. What power would be underestimated by his father that could heal even the most damaged soul as his brother?

"Love."

There was silence in the room behind them now. Everyone was gone, leaving the four of them alone. Thor glanced between his mother and father uncertainly.

"I don't understand. Have we not given our love to Loki? Have we not proved it time and time again?"

Odin turned back to his son and Jane. "Perhaps…If Loki were to find love, it would help heal him."

"But who? We cannot force someone to fall in love? And there are naught in the kingdom that I know of that would even consider such a thing after all he has done."

The silence was profound. It was a staggering idea and the helpless sense that permeated them seemed heavy and consuming. It was a great idea…while it lasted. Still uncomfortable with being in such close proximity to the great All-father himself, however, Jane cleared her throat. An idea rising into her mind.

"All…Father. What if you were to find someone on Earth? I know that there are not that many between Asgard and Earth who haven't heard of Loki. But there are 7 billion people on Earth. The chances of finding someone are higher than here in Asgard."

The silence stretched. It was an idea crazy enough to just possibly work. Thor nodded his head understandingly and Frigga glanced at her husband. Odin regarded her with his piercing blue eye before smiling a hinting smile.

"Yes. That is a good idea. After all, it was an earth woman who tamed the tiger in my oldest son. Why could there not be one who can see through my youngest?"

He moved off alone then. His steps coming quick and purposeful. The wheels in his brain already turning.

Odin moved with haste through the city streets of Asgard. The populace already dwindling as they moved to their homes for the night. He was greeted by no one and two guards trailed him out of habit. He made record time as he approached the bifrost. Heimdall stood at the far end. Peering over the edge to the great endless chasm below. He turned automatically as Odin approached and bowed low.

"My King."

Odin came up beside him and peered down into the chasm below. His all-seeing-eye already finding Earth easily. Heimdall stepped up beside him and they were silent for a time.

"A match for Loki." Heimdall murmured. His baritone voice as deep as a voice could go. "This should be quite a challenge."

"Let us see if it can be done." Odin said and they stood there for a long time not speaking. Searching. Endlessly searching the small planet of green and blue.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Do you have any coupons today?" The young man behind the cashier asked flirtatiously. Emma looked up from her wallet and could hear something beyond those words that stopped her momentarily.

_ What a fine, sweet ass you've got. Whoo! The things I would do to that thang!_

Emma had to be sure he did not actually say it. Instead, she shook her head and politely handed him her store card. He swiped it while maintaining uncomfortable eye contact with her and asked if there was _anything_ else he could help her with. The double entendre implied. Emma politely declined and took her bag of groceries and quickly left the store. Noting to never get in line with that cashier again. Ever. And quite possibly to stop coming to this supermarket entirely!

Sometimes her gift came in handy. But when someone's thoughts were so loud that they saturated the entire conversation, it made for awkward pauses that normally did not happen. Also, it was insanely hard to not judge someone for the direction their thoughts took.

Sighing, she got into her car and drove home. Blaring her music to drown out the thoughts of those around her in traffic. It was nearly rush-hour and everyone was always so violently negative that she often would grow sour just listening to their heads. Even in a small town it was hard not to be surprised.

"A psychic."

Odin nodded his head. Heimdall watched the young woman curiously.

"Why her?"

"Think on it Heimdall. A woman capable of seeing the thoughts and intentions of those around her. Loki would not be able to hide. She would see through him better than he. She would know his lies before he thought of them."

Heimdall nodded. "I have never seen one so powerful in all of my years. And my Lord, I sense a relation in Asgard."

"What relation?"

Heimdall grew pensive. "A maternal grandmother. Her mother is from here as well. She escaped 26 years ago. The girl was born on Earth."

Odin nodded. "Summon the grandmother immediately."

When Emma got home, she found the usual sight before her. Her mother sitting in front of the television, consumed by the soap opera channel. The house phone in her hand and a strange look on her face that made her stomach turn. Emma shook her head and began unpacking their simple spaghetti dinner. While they ate, Emma ran over the details for tomorrow in her mind. Her and her close friend from college were both applying at a major agency for entry-level positions and she wanted to make sure she had everything prepared. Suddenly, her mother spoke. Muting the television. Something she never did.

"Are you still planning on going to that interview tomorrow?"

"Are you planning on eating for the next few years?" Emma asked.

Her mother glared at her. "That's not funny. I'm asking because

…your grandmother called."

Emma glanced up. "Huh?"

Her mother picked at her food. "The one that lives…far away. She called today and told me that she is coming to town. She wants to see you personally. Something about a job."

"Hmm..." Emma noted disinterestedly and twirled a piece of spaghetti on her fork. "But why should I even want to see this woman? I've never even met her before."

Her mother glanced up at her and Emma felt herself probing. Reading her mother's thoughts and direction. But her mother had become so good at it over the years, she blocked her daughter easily. Giving no hint of information. She changed tacks instantly. Something that tipped Emma off straight away that there was something going on that her mother was not telling her.

"I'm just saying. I've been thinking about taking that vacation we always talked about. What do you say we just do it? Just go?"

Emma put down her fork. "You fight with me for years about our finances and suddenly you want to take a surprise vacation? What is it you are not telling me?"

Her mother sighed and put the bridge of her nose in her hand. "I'm just worried. Your grandmother comes from a place that…I never liked. Too many rules and regulations. I just want to be gone from here before she comes. I don't even know how she found my number."

Emma started to feel the direction of this conversation and she felt her stomach clench. Her mother was so distracted, she was giving off bits of emotion and it was enough to steer this particular ship by.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" She asked softly.

Her mother clammed up instantly. But there is it was before she did.

Fear.

Deep seated and rooted in experience. Her mother knew something was going on that she was keeping from her daughter. Something that Emma had sensed vaguely over the years. Often in the middle of the night when she passed her mother's bedroom and her mother was having a nightmare.

During dreams, one could not shield their mind. She never spoke of these times to her mother, lest she figure out how to somehow block her then too. It gave her a touch of insight and understanding to a past she new nothing about.

In fact, Emma knew nothing about herself past her mother. Her father had run out when she was a bun in the oven, and she never met anyone else. Her mother told her that she had a grandmother that lived very far away and it was better for them both if they pretended like they had no one. It was the closest she got to an explanation. But Emma was now 25 years old. Her birthday was last month. A quarter of a century living in the dark was not truly living. And as for her little 'gift', her mother insisted it was from her grandmother and that she was never to use it.

Emma was a mind-reader. The gift was so strong within her that it was as if her mother told her not to use her right foot or her ears. After awhile, her mother knew that her daughter's gift would come to bite them in the ass. But she did not punish her daughter for something she was born with. It was just as much her own fault when she conceived her to begin with. With that thought in mind, she stood up and returned to the kitchen of their small two bedroom apartment. "Just pack up. We're leaving in the morning."

"Mom, I am not going anywhere. I have a job interview tomorrow! If I miss this, Christmas isn't coming again ever!"

Her mother wheeled around. "I would rather be poor than risk her getting her hands on you!"

"Why?! Tell me something! You never explain yourself. You need to give me answers!" Emma retorted. Years of frustration welling inside her.

"I don't have to explain anything. I am leaving in the morning. Are you coming with me? Because if she finds you, your life will be over!"

Emma felt her world slipping away at her mother's words. The woman moved past her and into her own bedroom. Slamming the door behind her. Leaving Emma standing shocked and still. Her plateful of spaghetti growing cold in her hand.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The following morning, Emma awoke early and left the house at quarter to 7. Wanting to meet her friend before the interview at a local coffee shop to go over any last minute details. She left a single note on the kitchen table when she heard her mother's sleeping snores coming from her bedroom.

Mom,

I'll be back later.

I know you're worried, but don't be.

I'll call you afterwards.

Love you,

-Emma

Emma straightened her suit and picked up her briefcase. Heading out into the early morning. There was still a cold chill to the air that always warmed up after eleven and she looked forward to a warm cup of tea. Being not much of a coffee drinker. The traffic was slow and mellow. Rush hour was not to hit for another 45 minutes or so and she beat the traffic all the way downtown. When she arrived at the coffee shop, she spotted her friend sitting at a back table looking harried and nervous. She kept biting on the ends of her hair. Something that she had done since the day they met in their freshman year of college. Emma ordered a cup of peppermint tea and sat down in front of her friend.

"Hey Em," Her friend said, still reading her resume for the umpteenth time.

"Stop worrying." Emma said and took a sip of the scalding brew. Relishing how it felt going down her throat. Glancing over at a nearby gentleman, she saw the headlines read something about the New York City disaster from last summer. She shivered, remembering the ordeal. She had seen most of it on television and for the nearly one year later, she saw it everywhere. Rebuilding the city from the invasion and never ending devastation. It made Hurricane Katrina look like a joke.

It was like something out of a science fiction novel. Tony Stark and several others had been responsible for saving the world from certain disaster. The war criminal known only as Loki had disappeared and the amount of damage to the Big Apple had skyrocketed the national budget through the ceiling and beyond. The United States was border lining on another depression. Held up by the shakiest of legs. But Stark Industries had come through and was helping to rebuild as much as it could. Something no other company on earth would think about doing without a paycheck in return. But that still did not mean there wasn't a shortage of money everywhere one looked. Which was why Emma was here. She needed a job before things went so far south that the north pole seemed like a fantasy. Her friend Maria glanced over at the paper Emma was scanning.

"I still can't believe that happened." She murmured. A picture of Loki in a small square on the cover with an article entitled "Loki spotted in Philippines?" Maria clicked her tongue.

"Why are all the cute ones psycho?"

Emma had to admit that under normal circumstances, the man would have been attractive, but there was so much blame being pointed at him, and yet she could not understand how what happened in New York could have been controlled by any man. She understood there was a machine he had somehow built that opened the portal that started everything. Perhaps it was all a big misunderstanding. Emma knew from American History: 101 that the United States was good at one thing and one thing only. Pointing the finger. Shaking her head, she pulled out her resume and checked the time on her phone. She had an hour before they had to leave. Sighing, she took another sip of tea and began to recheck her resume.

One hour later, Emma and Maria stood in a massive line that seemed to grow the more time passed. Glancing behind her, she noted it moving around the block and down the next street. Grateful they had arrived early, she and Maria watched a security officer unlock the door several people in front of them and all at once, they began to hurry inside. Another hour passed by and they sat in the first waiting room. People were still lining up outside. Or so she could see from the massive plate-glass windows behind her. Shaking, she watched Maria get called in and she waited for her turn next. There had to be over 3000 people applying for 50 positions. Nervously, she wondered what her chances were and forced herself to stay quiet.

Suddenly, she looked up and spotted through the silent crowd in the massive waiting room, a group of people get off of the elevator. They were a peculiar bunch. One older woman dressed quite elegantly, and several men in black suits and sunglasses flanking her. They drew the attention of almost everyone in the waiting room. One of the security officers approached them and one of the men in black suits pulled him aside with the flash of an unusual looking badge that she could not see from there. But the badge caught the eye of several people closer to them and there was a great murmuring uproar. Whispers of 'The Avengers' floated in the heads of those around her and Emma suddenly felt very nervous. Was there a threat on the building or something? She gripped her briefcase nervously and heard a woman come out of a nearby room and clear her throat.

"Emma Oaks."

Emma felt the attention of the elegantly dressed woman instantly. Like a dog sniffing out the scent of a rabbit. Standing, Emma straightened her skirt suit and followed the woman. There was a murmur from the woman by the elevators and suddenly the guys dressed in black called out and approached her.

"Excuse me please! Emma Oaks? You need to come with us right away." One man said. Emma felt something suddenly slip down her throat. Her mother's warning echoing in her ears. All of a sudden, the elegantly dressed woman's thoughts came floating to her clear as day.

_ Gracious, She looks just like her mother…_

Emma suddenly realized that the woman was her grandmother, and everything felt claustrophobic. Nearby, there was a fire door that led to stairs. She was only five floors away from the ground and she was wearing thick two inch heels. Easy enough to run in. The woman who called Emma's name before glanced at her curiously, and Emma sensed that the woman suspected her of being a criminal of some sort. Her chances of getting the job plummeted just based on that suspicion and Emma felt a burning flame of anger as she took a step towards the door.

"Wait please." One of the suited men called out. The entire waiting room staring at the events in whispers and glances. Emma suddenly made up her mind and bolted for the fire door. She was down the first set of steps before the cries went up.

She moved as fast as she could go, but by the time she hit the ground floor, she heard voices echoing down the stairwell moving closer and closer. When she made the lobby, she stopped dead in her tracks as she realized the entire lobby had been locked down. Men in black suits surrounded her and she heard the door open behind her. Two men in black suits seized her and she panicked. Kicking and calling for help.

"What's happening? Who are you people?! Let me go!"

The men moved her around a corner and into a side room off the lobby. Someone calling into a radio headset that 'target was acquired'. Emma was seated at a long table and glared at by two heavily muscled men for a long time. No one spoke and no one told her what was happening. They merely stared at her behind their sunglasses and she wondered if they did that to look more menacing like in the movies. Oddly, their thoughts were blank. One was actually thinking about lunch. A moment later, the woman walked in and sat down at the opposite end of the table. The two men moved to the door and one whispered into his wrist "Lockdown secured, Sir."

The woman smiled disarmingly at her, but Emma was already reading her. She had come here for a purpose and all at once, a conversation with a voice she recognized overtook her.

"I know who you are." Emma said shakily. The woman raised a curious eyebrow.

"You do?"

"You're my grandmother. You called my mother yesterday and told her something. She wanted to leave last night because of you." Emma said bitterly.

The woman shook her head. "As true as it is, I still cannot get over the fact that you are here in front of me Emma. I have only been able to see you every now and then since you were born. And I am glad you did not run with your mother. We always know where the two of you are. Always."

Emma felt a chill run down her spine. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The woman smiled and folded her hands before her. Something about her demeanor suggested another time. Another place that Emma could not readily identify.

"What if I were to tell you Emma, that you come from a place very different from here. You were taken away from us all before you were born because your mother panicked. You are one of us, not…mortal."

Emma felt her ears ringing and she suddenly had the overpowering desire to laugh hysterically. "Is this a joke?"

"I'm afraid not. In fact, I have been charged by…someone of great importance, to bring you back home. The word of your gifts traveled far, and we have found a place where they could be put to use."

"Who sent you?" Emma asked suspiciously. Probing her grandmother's mind. She could find no sense of lies in the woman's words, which meant one of two things. Either this woman was a complete nut job…or it was true. When an image of a very old, regal man entered her mind, seated on a throne with an eye patch of dark shining metal and a crown that looked more like a Viking helmet came through her grandmother's mind, she grew confused. More images captured her attention and suddenly one of the Avengers came across.

Thor.

After the events of last year, the world had come to understand a great deal about the universe and who occupied it. The name traveled across her grandmother's mind and she felt a pit open in her stomach.

_ Odin…Loki…_

"Odin sent you?" Emma asked with a nervous laugh.

Her grandmother raised an eyebrow. "You are good. I didn't even have to think it for you to know."

"Actually you were. Perhaps not directly, but they were there in your thoughts. The longer you sit here, the more I can read from you."

"Very well." The grandmother said and recalled a memory of an event just the day before…

_ She had been walking along a beautiful garden pond with one of her friends and her daughter Madeline, when suddenly, Heimdall came up to them._

_ "Odin requests your presence." He said directly to her and turned, waiting for her to follow him. Her friend glanced at her nervously._

_ "What is going on?"_

_ "I don't know." She said and followed Heimdall to the palace high above the city. She twisted her hands in front of her and followed at a steady pace until Heimdall led her to the throne room. A place she had only been a handful of times in her life. The last being when Thor was to become King before the Frost Giants had attacked Asgard._

_ When she entered the room, she was immediately greeted by the queen Frigga and Odin All-father himself. She sank into a deep curtsey before them at their thrones and tried to remember all the formalities. She was never called into the audience of the All-father before. On his left stood Thor. The man was half her age, but she still felt her heart flutter at his good-looks. At the moment, he looked forlorn and serious and she turned her attention to Odin._

_ "You called for me your Grace?"_

_ Odin paused for a moment while Heimdall bowed low in respect to Odin and left the room. Returning to his post at the edge of the bifrost._

_ "I have come to understand that you have a granddaughter on Earth." Odin said._

_ "Yes my Lord. Her mother took her before her birth. I have not seen her aside from the viewing portals." She answered nervously. Her knees burning on the flagstones._

_ "She has been gifted with a rare power that I find interesting. I am charging you with bringing her back to Asgard within the fortnight. I have a task charged for her that I believe only she can carry out. It involves using her powers to see someone that even the most clever can find impossible."_

_ The woman thought it through and immediately she thought of Loki. She bit her lip against asking and Odin clanged his staff on the ground. Signaling the end of the meeting. Within the day, she was sent to Earth via the bifrost and had made the call to her daughter. Earning help from the group known as SHIELD, which operated on Earth and was their go-between Asgard and the people of Earth. Heimdall was able to locate Emma and her mother easily and in seconds, the remaining day fast-forwarded in insignificant detail before Emma's eyes._

Blinking, Emma returned to the present. The woman stood up and the two black suited men once again flanked Emma.

"Come Emma. Odin All-Father requests your presence immediately, and we have a long way to travel."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Emma clapped a hand to her mouth and stumbled to her knees as the room around her stopped spinning and whistling. Her grandmother wavered only a second as what she named the 'bi-frost' stopped. In the past three hours, her life had completely shifted.

She had been removed from the building by force and taken by car to a remote location outside of the city, where no one around her gave her any indication of what was going on. Emma was certain that she was going to be brutally murdered, or perhaps sold on the black market or something equally as crazy. But what she at first understood to be wild fantasies were left in the dust when 2 and a half hours later, she found herself in an enormous field in the middle of nowhere. She was brought out of the enormous, black windowed car by the same two men in suits that had not spoken all day and brought to a circle that seemed to be burned onto the ground.

Emma felt her knees weakening and she could not help but think that she was going to be a part of some ritualistic sacrifice. Her grandmother must have been some sort of cultist. But a quick probing to the woman's thoughts and Emma knew that was not going to even remotely happen. The black suited men shoved her roughly into the circle and stepped back as Emma and her grandmother stood in the middle of it. The black suited men proceeded to then back up quite a distance as her grandmother searched the sky with her eyes.

"Heimdall!" She called.

Emma looked up, wondering what on earth she was calling to. What was a Heimdall? She had never heard that word before. Suddenly, there came a crackling of thunder and Emma looked up. What she saw made her freeze with both fright and wonder. A swirling mass of clouds came out of the blue. Swirling faster and faster above them like a tornado. She grabbed her grandmother's arm and tugged her. But the woman turned to her and held her tightly in place. Tighter than the woman looked capable of. Bewildered, she glanced at the woman as the wind began to swirl around them faster and faster.

"Don't be afraid Emma. We're going home!"

Emma stared at the woman in horror as the wind encased them in a vortex that lifted them up into the air. There was a jolt as if wires were attached to her spine and lurched her forward almost painfully. Her head spun as the world became flashes of color. Energy and power screamed around her like tortured metal. Her stomach spun and tried to catch up with her. Closing her eyes against it, she was surprised as moments later, her feet felt hard ground and the nausea hit her square in the throat.

Emma knelt on the ground, shaking and swallowing down her tea. Her grandmother shook herself and blinked as the whirl subsided to silence and the sound of footsteps made them both look up. A black man dressed entirely of gold and bronze approached them. But the most shocking feature were his eyes, which were brilliant gold that matched what he wore.

"Greetings Emma. Welcome to Asgard." He said in a voice so deep she almost did not hear it. It vibrated off of her very bones. Emma regained her feet shakily and stood.

"The All-father is waiting for you." He said in his deep voice before turning. Emma's grandmother glanced once at her before following. Emma could do nothing else except fall into shaky step behind them. They walked along a distance on a bridge that glowed like a rainbow with every step. It reminded her of those old disco floors…only prettier. More…high-tech.

Way off in the distance, she was temporarily halted by the sight of a city that sparkled like something out of a fairy tale. The sky around them was a marbled mix between blue sky, stars and planetary bodies that blended together in an enchantment out of her dreams. Turning on the spot, she felt her heart pounding and she forgot to breathe for a long moment. Her grandmother stopped and turned, as did Heimdall.

"It's…stunning!"

"This is Asgard. This is where you and your mother are truly from Emma." Her grandmother said gently and tugged on her elbow. They fell back into step behind Heimdall who had continued walking with slow, powerful strides.

"Why did we leave?" Emma asked. Probing uncertainly for the truth in what her grandmother was about to say. She sensed no lies building. It was interesting how many people did not know that when you lied, it built up inside of them before the words were even formed. It was the easiest thing to spot. The harder of the two types. One was a deliberate lie. The other was the lie that was believed so fiercely to be truth. But there as nothing of a lie inside her grandmother as she spoke.

"I do not know Emma. She was engaged to be married to a wonderful man. A good man. But he was killed in battle long ago. You were not even born yet. When she found out about you, she ran off in the middle of the night and never returned."

Emma found what her grandmother told her to be completely true. Despite the confusion towards her mother. Even she could not understand why her mother would leave. When she returned home, she would ask her, she thought and they continued down the bridge.

The golden dressed man led them through the great city. Everything was beautiful and reminded Emma of the great mythological cities she read about as a child. Everywhere they went, they saw people dressed in what she could only place as castle-worn attire. Something seen in a Renaissance fair. Only…real. Everyone stared as they passed, and Emma was suddenly feeling quite foolish in her skirt suit. Her grandmother wore similar attire, but was far more elegant. Still, they made quite a pair. Especially trailing behind Heimdall, which Emma did not know at the time, was what caused everyone to stare in the first place.

A path was cleared for them as they moved, without anyone breathing a word. It took about an hour's time total to make it through the city. When they passed through a great hall bordered on the East and Western sides by great golden statues of what Emma could only assume were past kings, she felt her jaw dropping. They were each the size of a ten story building, and immaculate. When they passed through the hall, (If that's what it could be called,) She spotted something that made her entire body freeze. A great palace stood before them. Oddly, it reminded Emma of a great pipe organ.

Heimdall brought them inside of it and up, up, up to a great throne room that could have dwarfed her old neighborhood. At the far end, she spotted a great throne with two smaller ones on either side. Heimdall brought them before the largest one where a man with a snowy white trimmed beard and a titanium colored eye patch sat. Emma glanced over at the left throne. A woman sat beside him which she could only assume was the man's wife. The other was empty.

Heimdall stopped walking before the throne and bowed. "My King. Emma Oaks of Earth, and her Grandmother Lady Magdalena."

Emma probed towards the man to find out more about him, but to her surprise and dismay, she could see nothing. He was completely shielded. Only her mother could shield that well, but she found holes sometimes even then. With this man, there was an iron-clad energy that made him impermeable. While she brought her power back into her mind, he stood up to address them. Her grandmother sank to her knees instantly and Emma followed suit instinctively. The man regarded Emma with his stern blue eye for a moment before speaking.

"I am Odin All-Father of Asgard. I have sought you out Emma, because you are the most powerful telepath I have ever encountered in the known Universe."

Emma looked up at him but said nothing. How did he know she could read minds? He motioned to her grandmother. "You have fulfilled your purpose here. You may return to your home. Thank you for your services."

Emma glanced at her grandmother who turned to give her granddaughter a quick smile before she scurried off without another word. Emma felt abandoned. Completely alone. She had no idea where she was and what she was doing here. From what she understood, she was as far away from home than anyone ever could possibly be. Odin motioned for her to rise and Emma shakily got to her feet.

"Why am I here?" She asked breathily. Wondering if she had even been loud enough for him to hear. But he had.

"I have a task for you." He said.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Several hours later, Emma found herself in a room that could have swallowed her entire house. It was oval shaped, dressed in a beautiful blue and gold color scheme. A gigantic four poster bed stood against one wall. On the opposite wall was a handsomely carved armoire, a shelf full of books, a small fireplace and a small sitting area. On one side was a floor to ceiling door, and directly across from it was a floor to ceiling window that overlooked most of the city and the rainbow bridge her and her grandmother crossed to get to the city just hours before.

She wondered where the woman was. After Odin dismissed her, she had not seen her since. Having hoped to see a familiar face (even though she had just met the woman that morning), it would have been reassuring to at least have her back in the room when Odin's two guards escorted her here after their little chat up in the throne room. Frigga had been far more personable than the King, but that was to be expected. She almost imagined that would happen in any case.

The events of what Odin had told her still turned around and around in her mind. She was confused after sorting it all out.

Why would Odin want her to visit Loki at least once a day? He claimed it was for the good of his son, and Frigga merely held hope in her heart about the well-being of her adopted son. But Emma was no fool. Even with his shielding, there had to be something else on Odin's mind. Something he was telling no one else about. She had a feeling it had something to do with her abilities, and she wondered if Loki perhaps was hiding something that he was not telling Odin. Or on the other hand, she wondered if it was also due to the fact that Loki, no matter what he tried, would not be able to lie to her.

Ever.

And for the 'God of Lies and Deception' to have someone with that ability around him every single day, she knew that somehow, she would be able to find a way to help him. Odin wanted her to help him. But how? She was not a psychiatrist. But she knew enough about pop culture psychology to know that Loki was probably a Freud case wrapped up in a crazy little bow.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Emma moved to the door and opened it a crack. A smaller, smiling face answered back. She was a petite woman with honey brown hair and golden brown eyes.

"Emma Oaks?"

"Yes?"

The woman, despite her Asgardian dress, stuck her hand out in front of her in a very Earth-like gesture. "Jane Foster. I'm a…well, I used to be an astrophysicist on Earth."

The name rang a bell and Emma stepped inside to let her in. "Oh wait, Aren't you…?"

"Thor's…girlfriend…Whatever you want to call it. I was so excited when I found out they had brought you here." Jane said with a smile and looked around. "Beautiful room." She murmured as Emma held her hand out to the sitting area by the empty fireplace. Jane sat, folding her hands in her lap over and over again. As they waited for the other to speak, Emma offhandedly read her. And as thrilled as Jane was for her presence, there was also a sense of guilt…

"I just wanted to come here and say to you that I am sorry. I feel this is all my fault."

Emma turned her head to the side and listened. Both with her ears and with her mind.

"What do you mean? Odin told me he cast his eye out to look for me." She said softly.

"There was a reason he did in the first place. Perhaps I'm not allowed to tell you that." Jane said as an afterthought. "But I was the one who suggested he look on Earth. I told him that someone on Earth might be better suited since it was someone on Earth who turned Thor from a young, idiotic warrior type into someone who actually thought before he spoke."

Emma heard a similar statement made as she spoke it. A warrior with long auburn hair and a fierce appetite said those words to Jane once. She smiled at the memory that was not even hers and remembered along with Jane the feast that night…Another face cropped up that held some distaste in Jane. A young woman with a stern appearance and dark hair. A warrior in her own right.

_ Sif…_ She thought with a touch more suspicion than could be cast aside. Emma watched Jane shake herself mentally and return to the topic at hand. She glanced up at Emma. Fearful of the woman's response. But was almost surprised to see a look of deep thought rather than anger.

"Are you alright?"

Emma watched the young woman intently. But Jane had no more to offer that would help Emma piece anything together. Except for one more suspicion. But she dared not speak of it. If they really called Odin the All-father, then there was a good chance that his ears traveled father than she cared to know.

Emma nodded. "I am not mad at you Jane. In fact, I am pleased that there is someone else here to talk to from Earth. My grandmother who brought me here I just met this morning, and she disappeared. I don't even know if I am allowed to leave the palace."

"Well, you will probably be attending the dinners with Odin and the rest of us. If Odin has a special task for you, he will want to keep you close by. I suppose he told you about what Loki did to Yodenheim before he came to Earth?"

Emma nodded, and once again, that emotional suspicion traced Jane's thoughts as images of Loki passed through her mind. But she proceeded to explain quickly that Loki did what he did to make his father proud. Believing that if he destroyed Yodenheim, Odin would look at him like a real son. But what Loki did not understand was that Odin always did. But there was always that knowledge that Odin took him as an infant as a way to forge peace. Not simply because of the child left behind.

There was a big difference when one knew the intent behind an act of kindness. Especially in the eyes of a child who found out quite suddenly who he really was, and why he was really in your home.

She did not blame him at all for what he felt. Emma would be angry too. Not just at Odin, but everyone. For that, she would want to watch the universe burn too…Loki hated his own kind and was confused. It turned into anger and hatred for everyone else as he lashed out. Jane then explained that Loki exiled himself and about what happened in New York.

"So this is all about the love for their son." Emma concluded as her thoughts began to knit together. It was a lot to take in, and she was beginning to wish she had had a bagel with her tea this morning. Her blood sugar was taking a dive and all this excitement was doing nothing to help iron out the insane world she had been plunged into since breakfast.

"I don't want to understand him." Emma whispered as she stared into the empty fireplace. "I want nothing to do with him. Not after what he did in New York."

Jane explained then that Loki was taken for a fool by another entity in the universe that used him to open a portal to another world. A wormhole. And that the creatures that were seen in New York were not of Loki's making. He understood that he was in no way in control what happened.

"He had to have known it was too late. He would have been lucky to escape with his life. I think it is Odin's love for him that has kept him out of the gallows."

Another flash image of Loki started before Emma's mind. A memory of when Thor last visited his brother and this time, Jane had tagged along. Staying close to the doors and not speaking.

He was in a cell…his hair overlong. Not even a window to look out of. He had looked worn. Tired. Drawn in on himself. Barely speaking. Defeated in every way a man could be. But when Thor and he had spoken just for a short while, Jane saw that spark in his eyes that she knew would never go away. A spark that sent shivers of fear down her spine.

Despite it all, she knew…and now so did Emma, that Loki still had something inside of him. But Emma was willing to bet that it was not hope…It was darker than that. Carelessness perhaps? He had nothing left to lose, and nothing to fight for. Why else would he do anything? And yet, in Emma's mind, something wasn't adding up. There was something obvious going on.

Glancing once at Emma, Jane was putting two and two together now and she had a constant underlying suspicion that there was more match-making going on than anything else. At least, that was her notion. Emma felt her throat swelling a little with something she did not like when the thought crossed Jane's mind. She did not like being kept in the dark…and the one person in all of this was Odin. And she could not read him any more than she could read a blank wall.

Suddenly, there came another knock on the door, and this time, three young woman came in carrying armfuls of different fabrics.

"My Lady Emma? We have come with gifts from the Queen. Dinner will be served in one hour and we are to dress you."

Jane glanced once at Emma and smiled. "Don't worry. I never get used to this either."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

That night, Emma dined with Jane, Odin, Frigga, Thor and several others that she did not even remember their names until they were spoken. And it was like walking down memory lane. In the seventh grade, she did a massive project for Social Studies on mythology. She had gotten an A+, but had not cracked open any of that since then.

The following day, more attire arrived from the Queen's maidens and they stuffed her armoire full to bursting. Jane accompanied them. Emma understood the day before that only Odin and Frigga knew of Emma's 'abilities', which made things a lot less complicated. Emma appreciated the company from Jane as well and the two had a great afternoon in Emma's chambers. Although she kept her psychic talents a secret. For now.

They dined once more that evening in a comfortable dining hall with 360 fireplace and a long table full to bursting with food and drink. Odin and Frigga ate and then left almost at once this time. Thor and the others stayed and socialized. Emma sat still in the corner, as she did the night before. Listening more than speaking. They were curious about her, but Emma did not let on to anything. She was not sure if they were allowed to know why she was there, and merely stated that Odin needed her for something important. Most of them brushed it under the rug. All except one. Lady Sif had been at the dinner the night before and Emma had met her briefly. But she knew instantly why Jane did not really like her much. Not that she was not an honorable person, but she was highly suspicious. Emma found herself listening to her thoughts more than the others. Simply because her own name was on Sif's mind more than anyone else's.

She wondered darkly why Emma was there and what Odin's use for her was. She had entertained the thoughts of being Odin's mistress, but that was quickly shot out by her own mind. Then she thought of Loki…and the wild guesses and conclusions became more and more insane than the last as the night wore on, and it would have been foolish for her not to notice Sif watching her cautiously as they ate. It became almost uncomfortable.

Jane walked Emma back to her chambers with Thor that night. When they stood outside of Emma's door, she mentioned Lady Sif.

"I don't think she likes me very much."

"Ah, Don't let her bother you Emma Oaks. She has a highly wild imagination." Thor said.

"She just seemed so…suspicious of me." Emma said as her mind cast out to listen to the two of them. They had noticed, but were not overly concerned. Apparently, this was normal behavior for Sif.

Jane smiled at her. "Don't let her get under your skin. The women here are…different. They don't see things the way we do. That's why you are here. Odin needed this difference in perspective."

"I mean no one any harm here." Emma amended. Thor nodded and wrapped his arm around Jane's shoulder with a smile. Jane glanced up at him with a warmth that would have melted butter and they three of them said their goodnights. When the door closed behind her and she was finally alone, Emma walked to the window and looked out.

"I hope you're right." She said to no one. Except perhaps Heimdall. He was the only one who may have been listening…


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next day, Emma was led to Loki's prison several floors buried into the palace. She would have been foolish not to admit to even herself that she was nervous. There was only one door, and it was flanked by two guards at all times. One guard led her in and explained to the others who she was and what she was doing there. They nodded briefly and went back to their duties. Leaving her alone as she opened the heavy door and stepped inside.

It was unlike any cell she had ever seen before. Everything was light. Bright. The cell itself was set to one side of the room with a glass viewing wall separating visitors from Loki. It was also raised up several steps above the visitors area. Inside, there was a simple cot, a toilet, a sink and a number of things on the floor. Emma recognized a few books, a broken comb and brush, and a fork, spoon and bowl on a tray. Everything was in a white color, which contrasted against the prisoner, who was wearing dark grey. Whatever she was expecting, however, it was not the sight that greeted her eyes.

Loki sat on the floor, facing the door. When she entered, he did not look up. It wasn't until she was standing before the glass that he noticed her there. Having at first thought she was another guard. When the flash of dark forest green met his eyes, he wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion before taking the sight of her in. Emma had worn a very plain forest green dress from the Queen. ¾ sleeved with a hint of silver chasings. Her hair, which hung down usually just past her shoulders, hung loose and wavy. A golden brown surprise that she usually kept up in a ponytail. After a moment, he grinned. His lips dry and cracked.

"What an unexpected pleasure. To what do I owe this great honor my lady?" He said with a mock bow as he still sat against the wall. Emma set her jaw and blinked. Her face taking on what she hoped was an unreadable expression.

"My name is Emma Oaks. Your father sent me here to speak with you." She said as she approached the glass. There was a single seat in the center of the room, halfway between the glass and the door. She sat down lightly and perched herself easily. Casually.

"What do you wish to speak to me about?" He asked curiously. That smirk still written upon his face. But there was such a sense of exhaustion that it bled over into his voice and spirit.

"Actually, you don't have to speak at all. But I have come here to listen."

Loki blinked, and actually looked confused. "I'm afraid I don't understand. How can you listen if I am not speaking?"

"Oh, There is plenty I can learn from your silence." Emma said and braced herself mentally before pushing her powers easily from her mind. Wrapping Loki into the invisible bubble and letting it flow back to her.

His thoughts were scattered. Messy. Tangled. It took her a few minutes to understand their logic and pattern. Everyone had a different way of thinking. Many were similar to others, but when she tuned into a new person, it was often a bit of a struggle. And Loki's brain was like learning a brand new city. Just as complicated and extravagant too. Loki watched her curiously. The smirk falling away from his mouth as she sat there for a long while. He never took his eyes from her as she watched entire sections of his life coming flooding before her eyes. Closing her own, she could see them better.

_ "…There are few who can sneak up on me…"_ He said to a red head with a bobbed hair cut and a leather cat suit. Something about her looked familiar…

A bleeding man in a suit. _"…You lack conviction."_

Opening her eyes, she looked up at Loki as that memory played a continuous loop in his brain. He may not have been listening to it, but those words reverberated through his skull in an almost painful way. It was perhaps a wound to his ego that he had never been able to let go…

Conviction, it seemed was all this man was capable of.

The memories continued. Threats…creatures she had never dreamed about on distant planets. Humanoid, and yet revolting… Flying ogres and shrieking monsters… New York City still played a lot in his consciousness…also a sense of foreboding…and dread. And beneath it all, there was a constant state of willingness to prove himself. It was shaky, like standing on a crumbling cliff. He knew he was going to fall, and yet was too stubborn to backtrack and rethink his steps. Emma raised an eyebrow at that and continued listening.

"Who are you?" Loki asked.

She glanced up. Her mind still working around all she took in. There would be a lot to sort through later. And under all of that was still the emotions he struggled with. No matter what emotion followed which memory, there was one that was constant. One that was permeating every single fiber of his being now.

Dejection.

"I've told you. My name is Emma Oaks. Your father sent for me. My duty is to speak with you everyday for the foreseeable future."

"To what end?" Loki asked. "I am right where they want me to be. Locked up. Cast aside. Forgotten." He challenged her for information, and also half believed his own words. Emma thought carefully about answering. Knowing the slightest thing could set him off. At this point, he was still a delicate time bomb.

"You are wrong, Loki. You are not forgotten. In fact, it was why I was sent here. Your family worries for you."

He scoffed at that and she heard and saw a little more life come back into his face. "I seriously doubt that."

Emma shrugged. "Suit yourself." She said and fell silent once more. Listening to his mind.

Flash images of sexual violence threatened at one point. He imagined the glass to be gone, and his manly urges, so long denied (even before the incident in Yodenheim) began to show. She blinked and pushed it aside. Nothing more unusual than she had seen in other people's minds on Earth. Then questions of curiosity began to rise within him. Overshadowing the dark fantasies he was unoriginally conceiving.

Why was she here? Did she have powers? Could he feed them off of her? Emma could feel definitely no, to which she was grateful. He was trying to remember if they had ever met before. There was something familiar about her he could not place. It was not her face…it was more so her attitude. Her poise and stance. Her hair perhaps? The way it was cut. It was unlike the women of Asgard, most of whom had never seen shears in their entire lifetimes.

"You are not from Asgard." He concluded at one point about half an hour after Emma had last spoke. Looking up, Emma had been poring through some childhood memories he had long since buried. She had to admit that many of them made her heart bleed. And yet, she knew these were not the worst ones. Those he kept hidden in a dark part of his mind. Locked away so even he did not have to remember them.

"No I am not. I am of Asgardian blood though." She said simply. "Why do you ask?"

Loki shrugged. "Just pieces to the puzzle."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting I am a puzzle Loki?"

"More of an enigma. I still do not know why you are here. You say you came to listen, and yet we have barely uttered a few sentences. Why is that? Why did my father send you here?"

"He has not told me why. Only that this was my duty. He merely told me to listen. So I am."

She could tell he was becoming irritated. It was starting to well up in a buzz within him. Like a bee's nest when they are beginning to grow agitated but have not yet attacked. Bracing herself mentally once more, she prepared for him to lose his temper. But before he did, she warned him.

"I do not have to give you any more answers than that. This is only the first day of many. I just needed to know what to expect with you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? And I suppose you will be returning every day after that?" He spat. "To do what? Sit in that chair and stare at me like I am some caged animal in a traveling circus?"

The agitation grew and grew. He was making himself angry because she gave nothing away. And if someone wasn't upset, he did not know how to communicate with them anymore. He used it against them. In anger, he knew, the mind grew foggy, and he could worm his way into it. She saw his plans before they could begin to be executed. Fascinated, she said nothing and merely listened to his mind. Memorizing his instinctive steps.

"Curious." She murmured. He stared at her. The anger already looming behind his eyes.

"What's curious? Are you nothing more than a doctor? Set on diagnosing me and somehow curing me? Well, I have news for you and you can take this back to Odin. I am not to be cured. I am not to be fixed. I am Loki. I am a God! And I will not sit here for your amusement day after day you wretched girl!"

Emma tilted her head as she listened. He was grasping at anything now. Loki rose to his feet and she was surprised at how tall he was. Just over 6 feet perhaps?

"You think just because I am Odin's prisoner that I have no dignity left within me?!"

"On the contrary, you don't." Emma cut him off sharply. Her appearance gave nothing away to the piercing of her tongue. Her words cut through him and he paused. Wondering if he was getting somewhere.

"And how would you know any of that? Are you a sorceress?"

"There is no such thing as a sorceress. Just what we do not understand."

There was a ringing silence as he approached the glass saying nothing. He had emotions within him, but no words. Beneath all of it, he was curious about her. She stood up and stretched lazily. As if the conversation had bored her.

"I believe I have all I need for today. I will return tomorrow." She said casually and made to turn.

"You will not."

Emma turned. "Excuse me?"

"You will not return. I will refuse to see you. I want no part if whatever it is that Odin has in store regarding you. You are nothing more than a foolish child. A dim minded wench. I know why you are here. Odin means to tempt me with you in hopes that I will forgo some piece of information he wants."

"Do you have any information I should know about Loki?" She asked feigning interest. But she kept her eyes flat. Almost taunting him with her lackadaisical attitude. She already knew there was nothing. But she had to ask. He did not need to know she was a telepath. Not yet.

He grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know."

He had a great poker face, that was for sure. But he held nothing in his hands. Emma smirked once and turned to leave. Letting him believe he had won this round. But she was not a fool. She knew not to push him too hard on their first meeting. After leaving the prison room, she informed the guards that she would be returning later in the day.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Several hours later, Emma returned as they were feeding him. She took the tray from the guard and waved them off as she stepped inside of the prison. Loki looked up from a passage in the torn book and smirked when he saw her.

"Now acting as my servant? Touching. But begging my forgiveness will not save you."

"From what should I be saved from Loki?" Emma asked and placed the tray on the table near the right-hand side of the cell. There was a lever and she pulled it. It slipped through the glass via a small hole big enough for the tray and locked itself over again.

"Like I said before. Wouldn't you like to know."

Once again, he held nothing. Merely a threat. But threats were enough when they piled close together.

"Alright Loki. You want to illicit a response from me? Here it is." She said and crossed her arms over her chest casually. "I am not like any woman you have ever met. There will never be another one like me. I come from power and I have no problems using them. In fact, I have been using them all day. To which I am sure you were unaware."

Loki froze midway between his post against the wall and retrieving the tray. "In fact, I have been listening to you well beyond the time I left this room. You are louder than you know. In fact, it is a wonder everyone cannot hear you at times."

She uncrossed her arms and approached the glass. Keeping her eyes firmly locked on his. "But know this Loki. I am not soft and flirty. I am not weak and squeamish. I have seen things that would make _your_ stomach turn over a thousand times. I am a woman of Earth, and I see right through your words and know your meanings. So don't even assume that any of this will be easy."

Loki smiled, but she could feel the smile never reaching past his lips. "I can tell you are not. It seems to be that my father has chosen wisely for me." He smirked. "What a challenge."

Emma raised an eyebrow. He was really going with the whole concubine aspect of it. He had been thinking it over all day long and assumed she was merely an attempt at a distraction. He assumed Odin had planted her here in hopes he would fancy her and spill his heart to her.

"I am no one's challenge Loki. You should be grateful I even accepted this job. You have become my challenge, and I can think of plenty of other things I could be doing rather than sitting here listening to you complain and whine all day."

A wash of cold hit him as a memory from his childhood rose up within him. Many in fact. Thor as a child…complaining to Loki that was all he ever did. Snivel and whine…complain and tattle. It was still such a deep wound. Childhood wounds often healed with miserable scars. Scars that were often picked at and picked at and picked at throughout adulthood. Probably because the heart was more tender in youth.

"You're right. Your very presence is a gift." He mocked, taking the food tray.

She cocked her head to one side. "Mockery? Really? Could you think of nothing even remotely more intriguing to anger me?"

She turned then and headed for the door. "Enjoy your meal. I will see you tomorrow."

Loki watched her go. Half angry that she did not appear angry herself And he was good at feeling it out. It was how he found weak spots in others. The other half of him was intrigued by her. Wondering what tomorrow would bring and which tacks she would try then.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Time passed and Emma began to visit Loki every day in his captivity. His thoughts and emotions ranged all over the place and often left her feeling exhausted and worn both mentally and physically. Mainly because her outward appearance had to remain consistent when she was in his presence. The slightest things he would pick up on she knew, and she was not going to give him an ounce of anything to hold over her. Unless she wanted it so. It was like visiting an exceptionally intelligent toddler playgroup every day.

She did not tell him of her abilities, and she knew he was trying to understand her and how she could know exactly what he was thinking. For being a 'God' of deception and lies, she realized he was actually pretty poor at it. Or rather, she had met ordinary people on earth that were far better at it than he was! He could never get around her shielding either, and she knew it frustrated and intrigued him more and more each day, even though he would never admit it.

So with that in mind, he became as predictable as storm clouds on a summer day. One day he was spouting prepositions, the next he was cold and distant. Another he was clever and witty, the next cool and quiet. But despite it all, there was always a consistency underlying it all. That exhausting sense of misery. She had picked it up vaguely in Jane Foster's memories, but in person it was almost shocking. Jane Foster was not as in touch with her instincts as Emma was, and it was this that she constantly felt whenever she read him. He may not have known it, but it was in this dejection that lured her closer and kept her coming back each day. It was this that he sought the balm of her company. Little by little, she felt it fading away like a scar as his mood swings that swung as far as a pendulum each and every day began to level out into one persona. But it occurred over such a large amount of time that she knew he could not feel it and he did not realize that he was beginning to look forward to her company each day. It actually surprised her once when that unconscious thought trickled into his emotions during one of her visits.

After several weeks, Loki had grown tired of his own tricks and plots to worm his way into her mind. Realizing that he could not. That sense of depression overtaking him and he had begun to settle back. The reptile within him drowning in its own venom. It was on this day, about three months after Emma had first arrived, that she felt it. And what they had been speaking of was by far one of their most intriguing conversations to date. Emma had managed to get him to speak to her about why he had chosen Earth to attempt an invasion. After he admitted (in truth) that he had not known truly what he was getting himself into with those he had at the time been allies with, he had done what many did when they were forced to understand what they had done wrong. He had turned his blame onto her people, insisting they had had it coming.

"Your people are animals. Slaughter and killing because you can. You would have done so much better with a ruler. A King." He said. His eyes growing almost wistful of a lost dream. A dream that had been snatched once clear out of his hands by not only his own people, but many others as well.

Emma saw Thor's face swirling with Captain America… Tony Stark and a few others she could not name. She sat at her seat before the glass and kept her expression neutral. It was becoming easier by the day to assume what she called 'the mask of indifference'.

"If so many rose up against you, Did you ever consider once that perhaps it was a bad idea?" Emma asked as she picked at her nail beds. Speaking of his almost enslavement of her entire planet as casually as if she were discussing the weather.

"I have seen so many worlds. So many other races. And I have never encountered any like your people." He said as he dragged a broken boar bristled brush through his knotted hair. When he was finished, he tied it with a thong into a low ponytail and rested against the wall once more.

"One might say that is a lie. And I know a lie Loki. I have spent my entire life listening to them." She said as she glanced up at him.

His face twitched in almost a snarl and she felt another wave of anger in her direction. For a split second, she saw what he wished to do to her if the glass were not between them. But the flash images of violence were becoming something she was so used to, she almost tuned them out…almost.

"But your people are still so...naive. So foolhardy. So...primordial."

Emma knew what he was doing. He was attempting to illicit an emotional response by insulting her people in what would have come across as an innocent statement of fact. He had done this many times before and she was getting quite used to it. To his dismay, not even a ripple of emotion passed over her. He had been hoping to at least rattle her skirts and force some form of angry retort from her. She was growing to be one of the most unusual creatures he had ever encountered. And possibly the most frustrating.

"Loki, that is what we call 'human nature'. We may be animals, but we are also not incapable of peace. We cannot be ruled. We are too free in our own souls. And that is something that no one can take away. Because no matter what has ever happened in our history, we rise up against it. No matter how deeply we are broken, we fight to our last heartbeat. We take back what was taken from us, or we die trying."

"But are your lives worth that much?" He asked with mock concern. Challenging her with his eyes. And yet deep inside, she felt he truly did not understand such a thought. He had no idea whatsoever what it meant to be a human.

Emma stared coolly back. "You tell me. What would you risk your life for Loki?"

When he didn't answer, she smirked. Crossing her left leg over her right. "Oh. I understand now. You have never had anything, nor anyone to fight that hard for. I pity you for that."

His eyes turned cold. "I don't need your pity. You are a foolish people. "

"One might consider that a compliment." She said and returned to her apathetic gaze of her already perfect nail beds.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Several days later, Emma was out after breakfast in the Queen's garden with Frigga and Jane. The two women were very close and often chatted with each other when Thor was out with Odin. Emma tagged along quietly. Preparing herself for the upcoming hours she would spend in Loki's prison. She liked to soak up some sunlight before those hours in the bleak middle-light.

Suddenly, Emma came across a flower that caught her eye. It was purple and blue in a sense she had never seen before on Earth. Pausing by it, she knelt down and examined it. There was something so…incredible about it, she could not look away. After a few moments, she felt the approach of Frigga and Jane when they had realized she was not behind them anymore. Frigga knelt down and cupped the flower in her hand.

"This was Loki's favorite flower as a child. He picked them from the fields across the river for me when he and Thor would play. One year, he gave me one of them for my garden, and every time I pass by it, I think of him." She said softly. Dropping the blossom as well as her gaze.

"I should have known then." She murmured. Jane placed her hand on the Queen's shoulder. "But even as a child, he never let anyone see him cry. Not even me."

"You cannot blame yourself my Lady." Jane said comfortingly. Emma placed her hand on Frigga's and the woman smiled. Inside there was an eternal beauty that reminded Emma of a rose that never seemed to stop blooming. She could see why Odin was madly in love with her. Who wouldn't be?

Emma turned her attention back to the flower and wondered. An idea suddenly forming in her head.

"My Lady, May I?" She asked, pointing to the blossom.

Her and Loki had been at a stalemate for a long time. She wondered if this might be the kick in the pants he needed to start coming out of his shell. If he didn't, she might have to classify him as a lost cause.

Frigga nodded once and Emma pulled a small book from her pocket. She had been reading it lately from her own collections, and there were many passages she considered sharing with Loki soon. Just something to converse about. It was difficult when they had spoken of all they could…or at least, as much as she was willing to without giving away anything of herself.

With a quick snap, Emma removed the blossom and pressed it open inside the book. Closing it gently and wrapping it in a ribbon from her hair piece to keep it shut. Then she slipped the book back into her pocket and the three women continued on through the garden.

Several days later, the blossom was perfectly preserved, and Emma brought the book down to the prison with her. Wondering if Loki was just going to tear it apart like all the others the guards had given him. She wondered if it would be acceptable for her to give him anything other than the meal the guards certified everyday. That day, she sat down in her chair and he did not look up from the hem of his sleeve he was playing with.

"What do you miss the most Loki?" She asked as she sat down.

Loki looked up in confusion at the question. He looked tired today. Bags were formed under his eyes and she wondered if he had slept at all. She wondered if they ever really let him rest here, or if the guards gave him a hard time when no one was looking. She imagined Odin would never allow it, but after what she had witnessed in Loki's head these past few months, she immediately second guessed herself.

"Taking a walk outside. The sun. The wind." He murmured. Images of his memories came back of himself walking alone through his mother's gardens. Imagining walking along someday with someone. Someone who made him smile…

Shaking his head, there was such pain in that hopeful memory, he berated himself for even remembering it. It was remarkable what people thought of when they thought no one was listening. Emma bit her lip and stood up. Moving to the tray door. Loki's eyes followed her.

"I've brought you something today. Perhaps it will keep you busy until tomorrow." She said and placed the book down.

Loki rose as she pulled the lever and she returned to her seat. He moved towards the book and picked it up. Opening the cover, there was the pressed blossom from his mother's garden. Emma noticed the memory of a happier time come floating out of him and she noted the slight smile that followed. Anyone else may not have noticed, but she busied herself with her skirts as he closed the book and sat down on his cot.

"Why my dear Emma. Are you growing fond of this disheartening creature?"

Emma merely stared at him until he smirked and walked back into the cell.

"My thanks. The guards give me nothing but rubbish to read." He said and sat down on his cot. Emma was surprised by the actual taste of gratitude she felt. To him it was as sweet as a child's medicine and nearly turned his stomach. But none the less, he was grateful for it. For anything new.

Several weeks later, Odin summoned Emma to speak with him. Emma, who had only seen Odin in passing here and there since she arrived in Asgard, was suddenly nervous. When she arrived, Frigga, Jane and Thor were in attendance. She curtseyed low and rose only when he asked her to.

"Emma, I have called you here today to ask you how Loki has been faring."

Emma stood up nervously and clasped her hands in front of her. "I would have to say better my Lord." She said shakily. "Although he is a long way off from what I would call 'cured'. There is still much I must learn from him before I can say really anything else."

Odin frowned, but Frigga glanced at him and smiled, nodding her approval. Odin nodded as well and was ready to let her leave when Emma thought of something.

"My Lord, there is one other thing."

"And that is?"

"Loki desires to be outside. His thoughts are constant on sunlight and wind. Nature and running water. It has grown to a point I fear he may grow mad from it."

Then, to her left, Thor's thoughts were so clear she could have sworn he had muttered them aloud.

_ As if he were not mad already…_

"Thor, I would not mock your brother." Emma said suddenly. Causing Odin, Frigga and Jane to stare at him. Thor's face grew a touch pink and he frowned. But Emma needed to make Thor understand what was really happening inside his brother's head.

"I have seen the inside of his mind and let me tell you. It is not a happy place. He has not seen the sun in a year's time. Anyone else would perish and die from that alone. His memories and my visits are the only things keeping him going these days."

Odin grew pensive as Jane and Thor finally understood who Emma was and why she had been chosen in the first place.

"I see." Odin murmured.

He stood then and moved down from his throne to stand before her. He wasn't as tall as Loki, but he still cut a menacing figure in his daily counseling robes of ivory and gold. His golden staff in hand.

"If you believe Loki is to be helped by this, I will consider your request."

Thor blanched. "Father! What if he uses this opportunity to escape?"

"Do you truly believe I would let that happen?"

Emma could not read the All-Father's mind, but she could feel his tone. And it was laced with a challenge she did not understand. Until one memory floated up in Thor's mind that made her glance once at him before dropping her gaze uncomfortably.

_ "You are a vain, greedy, cruel boy!"_

_ "And you are an old man and a fool!"_

Thor noted he would never doubt his father's wisdom again. Chastising himself as he dropped his gaze from his father. Emma blushed and tried to drive that memory from her mind. But she remembered almost everything she heard and saw. One of the problems of being a telepath. But then Thor thought of something that made her glance once up at him. He was staring down at Jane's petite figure. Warmth and love blossoming up within him.

_ "But if I had not been so foolish…I may never have…"_ And the emotion of missing out on ever meeting Jane cut through him like a knife wound.

Odin turned to face Emma once more and they glanced at one another. There was no denying the fact that Odin had known exactly what transpired as well. They merely acknowledged silently that the other one knew.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Several days later, Emma was called back to Odin's counsel. This time, Frigga was the only one in attendance. She stood over a recently produced design of what looked to be an island. It was about 2 miles long and 1 mile wide. A spindling river surrounding it. Taking up most of the island was a structure. The design was a blueprint in a sense, only three dimensional and completely detailed. Frigga motioned to it.

"What do you think? Do you think Loki would find it satisfactory?" She asked hopefully. Emma pored over it and noted a very large garden, a small forest, beautiful balconies, and a large library. Perhaps it was…she supposed that anything at this point was better than the 30x30 pure white cell block he was accustomed to.

"It is…stunning! Is this where you plan on moving him?"

Frigga nodded and Emma walked slowly around and around it. Admiring it from every angle in its model form. But as she searched the island, she felt something strange in the pit of her stomach that she did not like. Wondering what was wrong with the design, she tried to figure out what it was that made her stomach twist sickeningly. It was beautiful. A heavenly prison really. She could not find one flaw in it.

"It is not far from the city either, so we would still be able to visit him. With his powers stripped, the only way to leave would be by magic." Frigga said softly as she watched Emma slowly circle it.

Emma swallowed. "It is perfect my Queen. I'm certain Loki will love it."

Frigga gazed down at the design almost sadly, and Emma could hear her wish that her son did not have to be imprisoned anywhere. But she knew it was the only way to insure his happiness. Emma felt a lump rising in her throat at the thought and turned to Odin.

"May I tell him my Lord?"

Odin nodded once and she was dismissed. Not a moment too soon. She could not understand why her chest hurt. Why the thought of the island brought a feeling of despondency to her…

Emma walked slowly to the prison block. The guards did not even look up when she entered. They were so used to her it did not surprise them anymore when she came at all hours. When she entered. Loki looked up from a book she had brought him last week. Smiling in a way she had only just gotten used to. It was genuine. She knew that because she could feel it in his chest…and also it reached his eyes. There was no shadow of deceit behind it anymore.

"Good afternoon Emma." He said and marked his place with a piece of cloth.

"Good afternoon Loki. I have news for you."

He grew quiet, and it was surprising because even his thoughts went quiet with curiosity. Over the past few weeks, she had noted how the violent thoughts were dwindling to nothing anymore. She had come to understand that her visits with him were becoming the only sanity he had to cling to, and somehow, because of her, that depression that clung to him had somehow dissolved. But what lay there now, she was still trying to find a word for. Memories of hatred and anger and sadness were replaced by blank space. With a tender hope that she could only describe as waiting for something to come along and fill those spaces with something else. Perhaps something better. Several of his thoughts were many of the conversations she had with him. Emma had become so accustomed to reading him that she did not stop in his presence. Not ever. She took a deep breath and exhaled.

"You are to be moved."

Loki's eyes darkened with suspicion and a cloud passed over his soul. "Moved? To another cell?"

"In a way."

Loki narrowed his eyes. Emma sighed again.

"I spoke with your father several days ago and told him how…you need to be outside. In the sun. In the wind. It will kill you if you stay here much longer. I can see it. So they designed a place for you to live. An island not far from the city. A place where you can be free and live happily. Have a garden. Trees. A home of your own."

Loki stared at her and for a long moment, the shock was as ringing within him as it was between them. He closed the book with a snap and rose. Glancing at the floor of the cell.

"I see."

Emma felt some interesting things rising up within him then. Things she did not truly expect. Panic. A touch of anger.

Fear.

Emma narrowed her eyes in confusion. "You do not seem pleased about this."

Loki rubbed his chin with one hand. Facing his cot. Setting the book on the table beside it.

"Why?"

Emma tilted her head. "Why what?"

Loki turned to her. "Why would you try to please me?"

It was not exactly what she was assuming he would say. Please him? The thought never crossed her mind and she opened her mouth to fire a quick retort. Before she could answer, the door opened behind her. Turning, Emma knew before she looked that Thor and Jane had entered. Thor looked like he was actually smiling.

"Loki! I have just seen the designs. It is a splendid place! Has Emma told you about it yet?"

Jane looked at Emma just once and her face fell. She knew purely out of instinct that Emma had told Loki the news. Glancing at him, Jane could see the fire burning in Loki's eyes. She tugged on Thor's arm.

"Thor, We should go. We can always visit another time."

Thor turned smiling at her. "Why? We all must celebrate! It is such a wonderful place! I envy you brother. It is-"

"A nightmare. Thank you for rubbing the salt deeper into the wound for your enjoyment!" Loki spat angrily at the ground. He turned his back on all of them and faced his cot like a pouting child. Thor stopped dead in his tracks and Jane tugged on his arm once more.

"Thor."

"I don't understand." Thor said. He turned to Emma. "You did tell him, Didn't you?"

Emma was busy wondering how to handle the emotions she was reading from Loki at the moment. She looked up at Thor to answer him. But the expression on her face was pure bewilderment. Something Thor took completely differently.

"What have you done?" He rounded on Loki instantly. Anger flooding his system. So quick now to place the finger of blame at his brother. Emma stood up at once, and despite her 5'5 frame, she seemed to tower over the hulking blonde man.

"Thor! Stand down at once!" She barked. A small voice in her head whispered _You do realize you just snapped at the 'God of Thunder'? Yeah, Good move there, Em._

Loki, Jane and Thor stared at her. But he did as she asked and turned to Loki as laughter flooded the room. He was laughing his head off. A trickle of the old Loki peeking through. It was strange. Like an old wound he had picked the scab off of. The laughter grew louder and louder, until it was a repulsive, hyena-like, sickening laugh.

"Oh this is amusing. Please, shout and stamp about over me. It is quite amusing." He said as he stepped before them.

But as he approached the glass, Emma felt her temper suddenly snap. All of the months of keeping a cool head. Of not wanting to do what she wanted to do the most. It suddenly broke within her and she pulled out the big guns. Something she very rarely did. Not only was Emma a telepath, but she was also a powerful psychic. Able to not only reach in and listen in on one's personal thoughts and memories, but she was able to step _inside_ of them as well. She had only done it twice in her life before and on a much smaller of a scale. But this time, she had been pushed to her limit. He deserved it. He needed it.

Suddenly and without warning, she pushed through Loki and wrapped herself around his psyche. In reality, he gasped. Falling to his knees as if he had been slapped in the face by the hand of God himself. Jane grasped Thor's arm as he stepped forward. Knowing Emma was somehow doing this. But Emma threw her right hand out and mentally a large cinder block wall flew through Thor's consciousness. Instinctively, he stopped in his tracks and the room fell silent as Emma and Loki faced each other in the deep confines of his tortured mind.

It was a plain space. Dark with sporadic lights. Memories floating about. None grasping root where they stood. Loki looked up at her in surprise. Still on his knees, even in his own head.

"Welcome to the inside of your mind." She said. She looked around. "It's not as noisy in here as it was before."

Loki was suddenly on his feet. "You _are_ a sorceress!" He hissed.

"A telepath. And a psychic." Emma corrected him.

His eyes narrowed with realization. "This was why father brought you here. He knew you would be the only one that knew whether or not I was lying."

"Among other reasons."

She could feel the harsh solidity as the pieces fell into place for him. He looked around curiously.

"So if this is the inside of my mind…"

"Then you can do anything. You're no longer in prison if you wish. We can be anywhere."

The settings swirled around them and they were suddenly on an icy planet she had never seen before.

"Original." She muttered as she looked around. The cold and ice were biting, but not fully believable.

"Yodenheim." Loki said. "The planet of my birth."

Emma knew he was trying to take power from it. But there was no power here to be had. Not even by him.

"But not your home."

The image faltered as the harsh reality bit at him like a poisonous snake. Grasping at a quick straw, the world went plain again. Smoky. Out of focus as the lights from different memories moved around them.

"I did not want to have to do this. But you needed it more than anyone I have ever met before."

"And what is that?" He asked. A hint of uneasiness rising within him as he regarded her. She really was unlike anything or anyone he had ever encountered. Friend or foe, it did not matter. He had no idea how to comprehend her. He could not hide from her. Not even in his own mind. And that was what unsettled him the most.

Suddenly, behind her, there was a dark curtain. And somehow, Loki knew that behind it were things he never wanted to face. She took a step back. One step closer to the curtain, and the deep, instinctive fear rose within him.

"How is it you can see inside my head better than I can? You think you can come here and try to break me with your tricks?"

"You are already broken, Loki." She said with a shake of her head. She took another step back. "And this is no trick. It is a necessity. I did not want to have to resort to this most basic level for your healing to begin, but I realize now that if this is what it takes, we must rebuild you from the ground up. You need to understand things that you have purposely shut out. Things that if you do not face them, _will_ destroy you. More so than any magic or any sword ever could."

Loki raised one hand as she reached up to touch the curtain. Whispered voices sounded as she moved it a fraction of an inch. A great, incapacitating fear welled up within him as she reached forward and pulled him towards it without even touching him. His feet sliding along the non-existent floor.

"No."

Closer.

"No!"

Closer…

The fear and panic within him was all encompassing him now. The sound of a child crying echoed behind the curtain. Emma grasped his hand in her own and as she pulled the curtain back and the world around them darkened. All he could feel was the warmth of her hand in his own as he was plunged deeper into his own mind.

In the silent cell, Thor could hear nothing but breathing. His own, Jane's Emma's…and as he watched, Loki's ragged breath. Suddenly, his brother shuddered. Tearlessly sobbing. His face held tightly in his hands. The unmistakable sound of a whimper coming from behind them.

Gasping, he saw a small puddle of liquid forming at his brother's knee. Jane tugged harder on his arm once and he stumbled back. The room was filled with a whispering energy he had never felt before. It actually frightened him. Stepping back, Jane was already headed for the door when the energy seemed to fade from the room as quickly as someone striking a match in darkness. Emma let out a long breath she had been holding as Loki trembled before her in his cell, unmoving.

Jane and Thor froze as they watched. Emma closed her eyes and wrinkled her brow against whatever it was she had now trapped inside her own mind.

"Now we can begin." She whispered to no one.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

That night, Emma did not sleep. She rose very early, dressed herself and walked through the palace. Trying to sort out everything she felt rattling through her skull. The pain. The horror. All of it Loki's and none of it hers. She had taken half of that burden within him. Faced it with him rather than throwing him into it alone.

But it had made all the difference.

She found herself at a small balcony near the throne room, overlooking the dark, still-sleeping city and sat down heavily on a stone bench. Hugging herself tightly against the thoughts she tried so hard to sort out. Emma had helped Loki yesterday in a way no one ever could. But just as she felt herself calming enough to face the day, and later, Loki, she heard faint footsteps.

_ Lady Sif._

She knew it right away before the woman even sat down beside her.

"You are up early." She said, looking out over the city as well. Emma sat up straight. Feigning being chilled from the night air. She nodded once at Sif and they were silent for a time. In Sif's hand was a training shield and her sword.

"Training?" She asked in attempt to make conversation. Sif looked down at them and nodded.

"Every morning since I was eight."

They fell silent again, and Emma knew Sif had something on her mind. But she was so tired, she dared not push to read her. She was not in the mood to read anyone else at the moment.

"I wanted to offer my sincere apologizes for my rudeness before. I did not realize what you were brought here for. Honestly, having to spend hours every day with Loki…sorting through his mind…It would drive anyone mad. It must be torturous for you."

Emma felt herself bristling at the comment and glanced at her. "On the contrary, he is making substantial progress. Granted, yesterday was the roughest time yet. But I have confidence in his healing."

Sif snorted. Not very lady-like. She turned her head and her black ponytail nearly hit Emma in the arm. "I'm sorry, but you must be joking. No one could save that monster."

Emma stared at her coldly. "He is not a monster, _Lady_ Sif. He is broken. Healing one's spirit takes a lot longer than a knife wound. And his wounds go much deeper and a lot further back than a lot of people know. To be honest, after what I have seen within him, I completely understand why he has done what he has." She snapped.

"And you think that justifies the evils he has committed?"

"Of course not. Nothing justifies such things. But I understand why now."

Sif's eyes grew cold and she stood up from the bench.

"Interesting." She murmured, and Emma heard soft footfalls coming along the corridor behind them. She knew already that it was Frigga and Jane. Probably alerted by the guards that Emma was wandering around after yesterday's events. Only a small handful of people knew what transpired down in the prison cell the day before. Those that did were sworn to secrecy. She gained her feet as well and the two women stared daggers at each other.

"Lady Sif. Do not presume to understand what you know nothing about." Emma said sharply.

Lady Sif shook her head slowly from side to side and Emma could not help but hear the outlandish suspicion dawning in Sif's mind.

"What is going on here?" Frigga asked as her and Jane came up to them.

"You are in love with that creature!" Sif hissed. Pointing a shaking finger of accusation at Emma's heart. Emma felt her words tear through her like a cold blade.

Frigga stepped up to Sif and reprimanded her. But Emma did not hear the exact words. Sif's accusation swirled around and around her as Jane pulled her by the elbow. Several guards stood nearby. Glancing once at each other. Emma bowed her head as their minds swirled this new information. Gossip already beginning on their tongues. But Emma had enough on her mind to think about. Jane said nothing as she led Emma to her chambers. Her feet dragging from exhaustion. Both mental as well as physical.

Later in the day, after a long nap, Emma visited Loki as she always did. She had debated about skipping the day, but the only thing worse than yesterday would have been not to return today. When she entered, Loki was sitting on his cot. Turning the small book she had given him weeks ago in his hands.

She wondered if he still had the small blossom from the garden inside…Sitting down at her usual chair, they did not speak. Emma did not even read him. She did not want to. Not at the moment. For a long while, they said nothing until Loki sucked in a breath, and Emma instinctively pushed forward to hear his thoughts and emotions. There was uncertainty. A little bit of fear, and an unusual sensation. She could only describe it as the day after one skins their knee. It is still tender, but new skin was beginning to grow. It was much the same, but it was happening deep inside of him.

"I was told that I am to be moved to the island in a fortnight."

Emma nodded. "You will be happy there Loki. It is a beautiful place."

Loki nodded. Still staring at the book cover. "Perhaps this is a blessing all around. I get my…_freedom_," He sneered the word without any true feeling behind it. "You, I imagine, will be returned to your home, to Earth."

Emma set her jaw. That thought had never occurred to her, and now that it was a definite possibility, she wondered how life would be if she returned to her 'normal' life on Earth. But if Loki was moved, where did that leave her? Nowhere but to return to Earth. She suddenly found it hard to swallow. Struggling to maintain her expression, she nodded.

"Perhaps."

Emma looked down at the ground and they were silent for a long, long time. She knew deep down however, that Loki was wrong. The All-Father knew exactly what he was doing when he cast his eye out for her. But to what purpose, she did not know. The possibilities began running through her mind and she felt one was a greater possibility than others.

Perhaps she had been brought here to be more than just a chatting companion to Loki. A cold chill of something very real washed over her. As if she were just discovered to be the butt of a very cruel joke. Loki watched her and she knew from her continuous reading of his emotions and thoughts, that he knew she had thought of something he had not. The question was what…

Emma needed air. She needed to walk. To think this through in a place where every thought and every expression need not be carefully assumed. She had been slipping a little here and there and she wasn't sure anymore where that line inside of her blended into reality anymore. She stood, straightening her forest green and gold gown. Still not used to wearing such attire as they did in Asgard. It was so different from Earth in the 21st century. Loki noticed she was preparing to leave but said nothing. He merely watched her carefully with eyes that had progressively started haunting her thoughts when she was alone.

"Will you come back tomorrow?" He asked quietly.

Emma turned surprised. "If it would please you, then yes."

Loki nodded and she read him. He was honest. In fact, something happened then that she did not expect. Not at all. Loki's desire to be near her had grown stronger than she had ever anticipated. However, he did not even realize it himself.

Gasping in surprise, she knew her suspicions were coming into reality. Sif's words pressed in her ears. Loki stood then and brushed a stray strand of dark hair from his eyes. Genuine concern befalling him.

"What is it? What have you thought of?"

Emma stared at the floor. Reading him deeper than she ever had before. He had still no understanding of how deeply his feelings for her grew. How frighteningly powerful…and possessive. Swallowing down her pounding heart, which had begun to creep up into her chest, she blinked and masked her emotions. Something she knew he was familiar with.

"If…I were to go with you to this place, Loki. What then would happen?"

"What do you mean?" He regarded her suspiciously. His eyes narrowing as he too assumed his ever-famous mask. But behind it, he did not know she could see the raging plethora of emotions he so barely kept in check. Something inside of him roared in triumph at the thought of her accompanying him and it unsettled her…and him. She could feel it as if her own feet had wobbled on the steps.

"You know exactly what I mean." She said softly. Approaching the glass and looking up at him. Their eyes locked and she felt a flash of warmth in her cheeks but maintained that eye contact that for every lengthening second made them both more and more nervous. Even more so when she felt that same heat sear him. It was unlike anything he had ever known before and he felt naïve. Like a prepubescent youth. She read him as his thoughts traveled.

He worried that even he did not know what would happen, and he had no idea how to begin. At once, that fear turned to anger. Growing towards his father for starting this all in the first place. And then to her, to Emma. For going along with it all. Or even worse. For planting these thoughts in his head all along.

"You are a sorceress." He breathed in a deadly whisper. As if all of this had been her idea all along. Emma's eyes turned colder than his home planet with his words. He used that word deliberately to wound her, and this time, it had found a mark. A flare of success shone behind his eyes and he smirked.

"There is no such thing Loki. Only what is not understood, as I have told you before. And clearly, you do not understand, Do you?"

Loki's smirk disappeared as she turned away from him.

"And what is it I supposedly don't understand? I know what this all is. A trick. A ploy to get inside of my head. A meaningless rouse by my father for kicks."

Emma whirled around and raised a single finger. Surprisingly, it worked to silence him and Loki's mouth snapped shut. The fear from yesterday's events still fresh in his mind.

"Stop blaming everyone else for what is in _your_ soul, Loki." She whispered. Pointing right at his heart.

His eyes went cold. "I feel nothing. I have none."

"You're lying. And I am the only one in the universe who can see it. And you know it now. You are a man. Flesh and blood. You have a soul despite what you may think, And it is broken. But since I have started coming here, it has begun to mend. Especially from yesterday. You just don't see it yet."

"And I suppose you do?" He challenged. But he knew she was right.

"Yes." She whispered. Her gaze unfailing.

Loki smashed his fist on the glass, but Emma did not even flinch. The glass did not even reverberate, only a dull pain in his hand merely reminded him of his folly. Instead, Emma gazed coolly at him for one moment before turning away to leave. Battling silent but powerful emotions within her as well that she did not want to sort out in front of him. Hidden behind that mask she so carefully wore.

Loki watched her for a long moment. A feeling of blind panic rising up within him. If she left, he wondered if she might ever come back. And that thought alone paralyzed him with fear he did not like nor understand.

"I feel…" He stammered. Trying to understand some of it. Any of it. Untangling the massive knots within him that he had assumed were merely there all along. Knots he had begun to feel loosen over the past twenty-four hours. Emma stopped and turned around. Facing him. Loki was staring at the floor of his cell. He took a deep breath and tried to speak truthfully. A feat he was finding harder than he could believe.

"…frightened." He hissed bitterly. Acknowledging it with distain. The gangly, prepubescent Loki staring at him in the mirror of his mind's eye. Did that side of him ever go away, or was he stuck with it forever?

"Of what?"

Loki swallowed hard. Knowing she could read his very heart. Something inside hurt terribly as it pulled and pulsed in his chest. The truth was like a horned demon fighting to get out.

"That if I go. If Odin sends me away…You won't…" He sighed heavily. "I would rather stay here in this purgatory, knowing you would come, than be in paradise…alone."

Emma felt a slap of reality as she read him and knew he spoke the truth. The God of deception spoke the truth…and it frightened her far more than his lies. It was astonishing. The silence was potent. Loki sank back against the wall in exhaustion. As if his words wore him out. Emma swallowed hard and fought the growing emotions within her. Finally, she cast around for something to say and one lone sentence arose from the memory in her mind.

"A man from Earth named Joseph Stein once wrote 'A bird may love a fish, but where would they live?'"

She turned and began her ascent up the stairs to the door. As she reached the top and her hand closed around the cold metal door handle, Loki spoke.

"Then perhaps the mighty Odin will grant you wings."

She paused as the sheer weight of his words hit her like a tsunami. Holding her breath against the well of emotions. She dared not to let any of it show. Not in the slightest. Her pause alone spoke volumes however and she struggled to make sure her voice did not change.

"Goodnight Loki." She said softly and opened the door.

"Goodnight…" He called softly after her. He watched the door close silently behind her and he exhaled heavily. "…Emma." Her name playing like a whispered prayer on his lips.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Emma walked without thinking. Seeking quieter, deserted corridors in the city to the bustling ones. She supposed that seeking out the peace and quiet would help her calm her inner turmoil. She knew now that Loki felt things for her, and whatever they were, they were strong. Deep seated in a way that even he did not understand. He had been burying his emotions for so long, and she suspected it was due to the expectation of pain. He would rather feel nothing at all than feel another touch of pain. He lashed out at everyone and everything. Emma stopped walking and paused by an alcove that looked out to the great chasm river that surrounded the great city. There was no window here, and the breeze that blew in was crisp and refreshing. The waters were deep and blue. Deadly, she knew, but beautiful from a distance. Like a sleeping Bengal tiger.

As she gazed down into the calm mirrored surface of the waters, the city on it's other side reflected in glimmering perfection, it suddenly hit her. She was Loki's mirror. A mirror he could not hide from. She reflected a painful truth in him he was now beginning to accept to see. And behind that, she felt the clinging arms of his soul. Struggling to survive. Even when he would have allowed himself to burn forever in torment. Emma felt herself reaching for that struggling, drowning man. His cries for help as soft and drowned out as a man in a turbulent ocean. And she was the only one who could hear him in all the universe.  
Emma clutched her chest as her heart ached. Of all the love that surrounded him despite his crimes, his soul reached for _her_ and he did not even know it. He had ignored it for so long. Buried in the endless depths of his festered pain. Emma stared out at the river and beyond that, the stars. Farther away than she could have imagined was Earth... And she longed for a second to be back there. To be worrying about careers, mortgages and tax returns. But then she realized that no matter what happened, she would always remember the sounds of that drowning man...and until the day she died, she would wonder if she would have been the only one who could have ever saved him. His cries would forever haunt her. Always. Bowing her head as the weight of it fell onto her shoulders, she knew this was why Odin had summoned her here. For this burden. For this challenge...

For this honor.  
Suddenly, Emma sensed a presence behind her. A presence of great age and stillness. Odin All-Father was right behind her. Straightening as best she could, she waited for him to speak. And a moment later, he did.  
"You wish to speak to me about him."  
"My lord, my thoughts are barely cohesive. How could my words be any clearer?"  
Odin came to stand beside her and looked out towards the peace and beauty of the river.  
"You have come to understand your place in all of this."  
Emma nodded. "Yes." She breathed. Odin glanced at her just once. His incredible blue eye seeming to X-ray through her. Beyond her. Emma bowed her head as she tried to bring it together to a conceivable whole. But Odin spoke it aloud first.  
"You love him." He said gently.  
She closed her eyes as his words were spoken aloud. Sealing her hearts' desire. Making it a truth she tried so hard to cover as a lie. Even to herself. Emma bit her lip.

"I don't trust him. And without trust, how can there be love?"  
"Indeed. And yet after all he has done, I may not trust my son. But I will always love him."  
Emma glanced at Odin's profile. "My lord, what shall I do? You were right. I am the only one who can save him."  
"Do you believe he can be saved?"  
Emma stared at him. "Yes. And I know you do too. Why else would you have sought me out? Why else would you have brought me here. Did you intend for love to follow?"  
Odin did not speak for a long time and for a moment she wondered if he were dismissing her question. Until a long moment later, he took a deep breath. When he spoke, he sounded tired. As only a careworn father could sound.  
"You are free to leave Asgard and return to earth. But Loki will remain. You know his heart and his intention. I chose you for your gifts. And it is you that Loki is in love with. I would bet my own soul that he would never find another who could nor would be able to reach him as you have. I fear you are his one and last hope."

The sense of permanence that radiated from his tone was enough to make her understand. He was not talking about her and Loki getting an apartment somewhere…going out on weekends to little bistros and seeing movies and making out on the couch at the end of the night. This was Asgard. Their versions of couples were far different than Earth was. For them, it was a permanent bond when the idea struck. A covenant. He spoke of marriage. And he knew that she understood.  
"But my lord, if we are wed, there will come a time when my guard will be down. There will be nothing standing between us. No cell. No magic. How can I trust he would not merely use that gain to kill me and try to pick up where he left off?"  
"Loki has no power. I stripped them from him for not only the good of all, but for the good of his soul. He has no more power than a mortal man."  
"A mortal man may still inflict mortal harm." Emma whispered. "And does he not resent you for that my lord? Taking his powers from him?"  
"Loki already resents me for things from long ago. But it was also fair to even your footing. A man and woman should be equals. And now, you are. He always has been since the day you came to Asgard."  
"But what if they come back for him? Those creatures. There are rumors that those he made such dealings with survived."  
"Loki burned those bridges. Even he knows his mistakes. If there is to be war, they declare against all of Asgard. It is in love and only in love will he find healing. You must decide if that is what you were meant for. Kingdoms fall for the price of a single love. Even if many cannot see nor understand it. Loki is and always will be my son. For him, I would go to war. And from what I can see, you have already decided where your loyalty lies."  
Emma swallowed back tears and turned on her heel. Striding away from Odin and his ever piercing gaze. She found her steps moving towards her chambers. Everyone she passed moved aside. The entire kingdom knew who she was and why she was there now. One could not stop the gossip fire once it spread. They all feared her. She did not blame them. She even feared herself. When she reached her chambers, she locked her door and moved to the window. The rainbow bridge catching her eye. And beyond it, she could make out the distant figure of Heimdall. A glint of gold at the end of the repaired bridge. As she watched, he turned from his post and even from here, she knew he was looking right at her. He knew her struggle. And she knew he saw it all. He was perhaps even more wise than Odin. He saw what Odin often missed. She wondered what it was he saw that she missed…And she wondered if he too saw the danger she had put herself in.  
Emma turned away from the window and moved blindly for a few moments before her guard fell. In a room where no one but the silent gaze of Heimdall could see, she felt tears of hopeless surrender fall from her eyes, and she knew then that she had fallen in love with the dark prince.  
Tactfully, Heimdall turned away and set his gaze on one place that interested him. Loki's cell. He found the boy staring out of the window of his cell towards the door. The expression there surprised him. For the first time in a very long while, the man looked...confused. Frightened even. There was no one else in the room and he could hear no one speaking to him from afar. No one was being shielded either, so he knew that what frightened Loki resided within him. Looking closer, he saw thoughts cross over Loki's face, when suddenly, he picked up a book that he had seen Emma once give him. Inside was a single dried blossom marking a passage. Picked from the queen's gardens as a gift. Heimdall watched as Loki picked up the blossom and admired it.

For a second, Heimdall imagined Loki crushing it...burning it...freezing it...destroying it. But as he watched, Loki smiled the slightest of smiles and closed his eyes. The flower bloomed in his hand. Whole and untouched. Perfect. What little power he had draining from him he had used to bring life back to the blossom.  
It was then that Heimdall knew. Loki's soul had found a life line to cling to.  
It was in Emma.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Later that night, Emma sat in front of a crackling fire in her chambers. The crisp breeze had turned a little colder. She sipped a warm cup of tea and attempted to concentrate on a book from her shelf. But she ended up reading the same paragraphs over and over again. Finally, she gave up, shut the book and tossed it onto the chair beside her. There came a soft knock on the door, and she knew it was Jane before it opened. Jane stuck her head inside and smiled a sad half smile.

"May I come in?"

"Sure." Emma said and poured a second cup of tea for her. Jane wore a woolen shawl around her shoulders and sat down. Rubbing her hands in front of the fire.

"Are you alright?" Emma asked. "Have some tea."

Jane took the cup with a smile and they sipped in silence. Emma knew there was something on her mind, but she was trying to put it into words.

"I guess. I'm more concerned about you."

"Me?" Emma asked, surprised. Jane nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Jane looked at her. "Because I know how you feel about him. I am worried for you is all."

Emma felt the bottom drop out of her stomach and she placed her tea cup on the small table. "How did you come up with that conclusion?"

Jane smiled. "Because I'm a woman. I know."

Emma smiled back. "And what if I was? Would that make me a bad person?"

Jane shook her head. "No."

Emma could tell she spoke the truth and honestly felt it.

"You see him better than he sees himself. Of all the people in the universe, It may have been meant to be. Logically, it makes perfect sense."

"How so?" Emma asked.

Jane shrugged. "Think about it. Loki. Master of disguise and concealment…in love with the most powerful telepath in the universe! It's like something out of a fairy tale."

Emma smirked. "Uh, Jane? I hate to point out the obvious here, but you're sort of banging the God of Thunder."

Jane stared at her for a moment, then suddenly cracked up and so did Emma. It felt good to laugh at something that was really funny. She had forgotten how. After awhile, their girlish giggles faded and they fell silent. Jane's concern etching on her brow once more. "What are you going to do?"

Emma shook her head. "I don't know. I honestly don't know. How can I trust him after all that he has done? How do I know that he won't just kill me when he gets the chance? I've never even touched him."

Jane shook her head. "I don't think he will. You are too valuable to him."

"How do you know?"

Jane just looked at her. "It was obvious the other day. Before you stepped into his mind. The fear he had at the prospect of losing you. I knew it right away."

Emma turned back to the fire. For the most powerful telepath, she certainly missed that…or perhaps some of Loki's bad habits were rubbing off on her and she was just choosing not to see it. What if it was true?

"It will all work out Emma. You'll see."

Jane stood then and hugged Emma lightly around the shoulders before showing herself out. Emma watched her go and sighed deeply. Allowing this new reality to encompass her.

"I'm in love with the God of deception. Nice, Emma. Right on track!" She whispered to herself and picked up her cold tea cup once more.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

A week and a half later, Loki found himself facing a visitor he had not had in a very long time. Odin All-Father cast a presence that made him turn away from his book and stare with surprise. The familiar flavor of bitterness rose in the back of his throat as he stared at his would-be father.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" He asked as he closed the book but did not get up from his place on his cot. His father stood still. Taking in his adopted son with that piercing blue eye.

"I have come to let you know that at this week's end, you will be moved to a new place. An island not far from the city that will allow you to live your life in peace."

Loki scowled at Odin. "Yes. I have already been told."

Odin stepped forward. Closer to the glass. "Loki, I am not casting you out. I never did. You did it to yourself when you destroyed Yodenheim. I never asked anything of you. Just that you stayed with your family. But in this cell, you are unhappy. Dying slowly day by day."

"And you do not assume I will just rot more slowly on an island? Cut off from everything? Forced to live as a hermit?"

"You will be free in your own right Loki. And the island will also allow your family to visit you."

"I do not want it!" Loki was suddenly on his feet. His voice echoing throughout the room. Odin stared back at him without a hint of emotion.

"And why is that? Do you not wish to be free of this cell?"

Loki did not speak, and at once, Odin knew why. His suspicions confirming as Loki returned to his cot. Almost as an old, tired dog would return to its bed. The only comfort brought to him was the only one he would seek out anymore. The comfort of sleep. Odin knew why this was, but decided not bring it up directly. Instead, he would allow Loki to tell him what he wanted in his own way. Loki laid down on his side. Facing away from Odin. He felt tired. Battered. Broken.

For once, those cracks in his soul were piercing the outer layers that he had worked so hard over the years to build up. But they were crumbling like a poorly constructed dam. Allowing the flooding within him to consume him. Drown him.

"I will not go anywhere...not without Emma." He whispered.

Odin nodded his head. He had been right all along.

"You care for her."

Loki turned. Glaring at him but saying nothing. As if defying Odin to mock him for it. Odin did not, and instead chose silence. Instead, after a moment, he sat down in the seat that Emma usually perched herself on. Loki had a strong desire to tell him not to sit there. It was not his throne. It was reserved for someone of much higher honor.

"Loki, If you desire Emma to stand beside you, You need only say the word. I will not force her to do anything against her free will, but the least that can be done is to ask her."

"What are you suggesting? A marriage proposal?" He scoffed at the idea and swung his legs out. Setting his feet back on the floor. But Odin could see the faintest hint of hope lighting behind his son's eyes.

"If you desire Emma to become your wife and she accepts, I will have it done in two day's time."

Loki sat up a fraction straighter in his cot. Staring his father in the eye across the room incredulously.

"You would cast her out into my prison with me? Are you more of a monster than I believed?"

"It is not a prison Loki. But I will say no more on the matter until this one is completed." Odin corrected him. Ignoring the insult.

Loki laughed at himself and looked around him. "Not the most romantic of settings to propose marriage to someone who I hardly think could stand the thought of me in that way."

Odin tilted his head. Regarding his son curiously. "How do you know this? Have you asked her?"

His father's words stopped him at once and Loki did not answer. Odin left Loki then to his thoughts. Heading straight for his private counsel room. As he passed his guards in the hallway who were waiting for him outside, he motioned for one of them to step forward.

"Summon Lady Emma Oaks to my private counsel chambers. Have the Queen meet us there at once as well."

The guard bowed. "Yes your majesty." He said and was off like a shot.

Emma was headed down to the prison block when she was stopped by two guards.

"Lady Emma. You have been summoned by Odin All-Father for a private counsel at once. Please come with us."

Emma felt a twinge in her stomach. As if she were being called to the principal's office for something she didn't know she did wrong. As she fell into step behind them, another guard came up behind her and tailed her steps as they led her upstairs to the private chamber beside the throne room she had once seen when Frigga showed her the design for the Island several weeks ago. When Emma walked into the room, Odin and Frigga were the only in attendance. Not even the scribes which she usually saw perched in a corner somewhere. Whatever this was about, it was deeply secretive.

"Lady Emma." Frigga said with a soft smile as Emma sank into a graceful curtsey. She was getting better at them. When she rose, Frigga stood beside her and brought her up to where Odin stood. The model of the island still stood on the table, and he turned from it to face her.

"My Lord, You called for me?"

"Yes, I did Emma." Odin sighed and turned his blue eye on her. "In two day's time, Loki will be moved to the island. But he has forcefully declined this...unless you accompany him."

Emma was confused at first, until she heard a single word drift up in Frigga's conscious mind. _Marriage..._

Turning to the queen, she stepped back in shock. The sad smile that she wore mimicked the inner turmoil in her heart. "I don't understand."

Frigga smiled, but the sadness remained in her eyes. "Loki has fallen in love with you Emma. He has requested that you accompany him to the island...as his wife."

Emma took another shocked step backwards. Luckily finding one of the small stools that ringed the table with the backs of her knees. Plopping down on it heavily and not at all lady-like.

Weren't her socks supposed to be flying off? Isn't that what everyone said happened when this kind of news was sprung up on someone? Frigga and Odin could tell she was to say the least, surprised by the news. Frigga brought her some water in a delicate golden goblet from a small stand nearby. Emma sipped it gratefully. Trying to think. But her head was full of a buzzing emptiness. As if the words she had heard shattered all amounts of conscious thought. Eventually, the wheels began to turn once more, and she was able to think things through. At that moment, a guard knocked on the door and Odin allowed him in.

"My King? Heimdall is here."

Odin jerked his head at once and turned to Frigga.

"Stay here with her. I shall return as soon as I can."

Odin swept from the room, leaving Frigga and Emma alone. Once the door shut, Emma felt a whirlwind of emotion. Frigga turned as Emma's face fell and she wrapped her arms around the poor girl.

"Oh my dear. We did not mean to frighten you so. You do not have to go through with this. We understand this is a frightful undertaking." Frigga apologized. But when Emma raised her face from her hand, Frigga was shocked to see that Emma had not burst into tears. In fact, she did not seem as upset as believed.

"I am not unhappy my Queen. But I have to express my concerns. Loki is considered a terrible danger. My concern lies in what I have spoken to Odin about before. How can I trust him after all that he has done?"

Frigga pulled up a second stool and sat in front of her. Looking more like a mother and a woman than the Goddess many believed her to be. Emma let her take the goblet from her and set it on the table beside them.

"I have always loved my son. He may not have come from my body, but he has a place in my heart just as any child of mine could have. I do not agree with what he has done. He has taken so many lives...all for the pain in his soul. But you Emma..."

Emma looked up at her.

"You have the power to make him whole. I know it. I see it. I feel it. It has already begun. I never imagined my son would find love. But it is your choice in the matter. You need to decide where your path leads you from here. When you have made your decision, let us know."

Emma bit her lip. Already knowing what her answer would be. The prospect of leaving Loki in any way shape or form ground at her heart like a stone. But she knew that once she spoke the words, there was no going back. It was a gigantic precipice she was not sure if she should cross...and yet, the two choices in the forked road of her life were those. Either leave Asgard forever, or take Loki...the 'God of deception', who had killed without thought of consequence as her husband. However, she knew Loki's mind. She knew his soul. And there was hope there. If Hope was all she had to cling to besides an eternal emptiness and regret...she would take it.

"Alright. I'll do it."

Frigga looked up at her in surprise.

"What?"

Emma looked the queen in the eye. "I'll do it. I'll marry him. So help me, I'll marry Loki."

Frigga's face lit like the setting sun and she embraced Emma as only a mother would. Like something her mother never had. But as she hugged the woman back, she wondered secretively, if she had signed her own death warrant. She could not change things now. She could only pray.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

That night, Emma found she could not sleep. She had not gone to visit Loki at all that day. Having had to undergo preparations for the small ceremony that would bind her to him in less than 48 hours. When she finally stumbled back to her chambers exhausted and crawled into bed, she found sleep eluded her and she lay there. Watching the shadows of the night pass slowly along her ceiling. Her thoughts running rampant.

For the first time, she considered running away. But even as she imagined it, she felt her stomach sinking. She could not leave him. Not now. She wondered if he had been told the news. If he had, what had he thought? She wished she could have been there to read him. She needed to know. She had to know.

After an hour of tossing and turning, she sat up. Making up her mind. To hell with rules. She slipped on her bed slippers and robe and made her way down the empty corridors where only night guards patrolled. Heading for the prison block. Somewhere, a soft chime rang three in the morning as she turned down the final corridor to where the night guards stood. She did not know this group and had to explain who she was. They let her through without a word and she entered the prison silently.

Emma had never been there after sunset. The lights were dimmed and Loki was asleep on his cot. As she approached the glass, she saw flash images of his dreams. He was dreaming loudly. Actually it was more of a nightmare. Emma gently pushed into his mind and stepped into his dream.

A child…crying…abandoned on an island. A city actually, deserted. He wandered about, searching. Never seeing her right behind him. As he stood in a hall that looked remarkably like the great throne room, she made her presence known to him and he turned.

"Emma!" He exclaimed with relief and stepped closer to her. Even in his dream, she felt he longed to hold her. Embrace her close to him. But he restrained himself. Afraid that if he touched her, she would disappear.

"Loki." She breathed. Knowing now, he treasured her more than she first believed. Gently, she took his hand in hers and forcefully changed the dream into a seamless whirl.

"Let's go for a walk."

The world around them became the Queen's garden. She turned and saw tears running from his cheeks. Overcome with joy in his emotion, she felt them in her throat as well . They walked in peaceful silence for a time and came across his mother's flower bush. The one he had given her as a child.

"Do you think there will be any of these in my garden?" He asked sadly. Suddenly remembering. He turned to her and his smile suddenly fell away.

"This is a dream." He realized and the world began to shimmer. He was waking up, and the dream dissolved into darkness before Emma opened her eyes. Staring at Loki through the glass as his eyes snapped open. At first, he felt disappointment at the dream's ending. But then he turned his head and saw her standing there. Real and solid on the other side of the glass. Sitting up, he stared at her. As if she were an optical illusion that would disappear at just the right angle.

"Emma?"

"Hello Loki." She whispered. Her heart pounding as she realized that she was to be his wife in two day's time. "I apologize for not coming to you today. I…had some things to attend to."

Loki stood up and walked slowly closer to her. "I thought you were never coming back."

Shaking her head, she lowered her gaze with a sad smile. "No. I would never do that."

She felt his thoughts circle around the dream. He wondered then if it had been his or hers.

"Was it real? Or was it just a dream?"

"Why shouldn't it be real even if it was?" She said softly as he approached her. He towered over her behind the glass. Emma raised one hand and pressed it to the glass. Reading him as she did so.

For a long moment, he stared at her hand. Debating whether or not this was a trick. But, finally, he realized it wasn't, and trembling, he raised one hand and pressed it against her imprint.

"I am coming with you Loki. To the island." She whispered.

Loki tilted his head with curiosity. A flickering of hope rising into a steady burning. Like hot coals being fanned into flame.

"You would exile yourself with me; knowing I am dangerous? Why?"

Emma smiled sadly. "When I came here, I agreed to help you. What I didn't count on was what that would entail. You are not the only person who has changed Loki. I have seen a side of you that no one else has. A side you hid from every soul in this universe. Including yourself. You may have begun to see it. But... I like it. I want to see more."

Loki stared at her and Emma noted the shine that rose in the corners of his eyes. He dropped his gaze before anything else could happen.

"So you are coming with me to the island. Where no one can protect you. Where no one can save you from me."

"Except you." She whispered.

Loki looked up at her and for the first time ever, she felt it. He understood what it meant. To protect something he would rather die than lose. But to protect that treasure from yourself...or rather, that part of yourself you once loved, and now loathed...it would be a struggle for him. Emma was willing to take that chance.

She smiled at their hands. "There is a beautiful garden there Loki. We could walk through it like we did in your dream. I know it isn't the exact way you always pictured it, but perhaps this is better. When an old dream dies, we are allowed to replace it with a new one. A better one. We are meant to embrace the lives we never imagined for ourselves. I now know I have."

Loki stared at her. Gratitude and honor welling within him. She cared for him as well. His emotions ran almost uncontrollably, and she had to admire his willpower. If there was one thing he did have in abundance, it was that. But there was more than gratitude there. Affection. Possession. Surmounting joy.

One might have called it love.

Emma and Loki stared at one another through the glass. He was trying to find something to say but he could not find the words. He opened his mouth and closed it. Then opened it again only to give up. But Emma knew what was happening within him and she held a finger up to her lips.

"Shhh.." She whispered. "You don't have to. I know your meaning."

He smiled at her and he was frighteningly handsome.

"Thank you." He whispered.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The following day, Emma packed her belongings slowly. Carefully. A group of servants came just before dinner and picked them up. Taking everything she owned to the island a day in advance. The only belongings remaining were a small bag and her clothes for the following day. While she checked and rechecked the contents of her bag, she heard a knock on the door. Opening it, she felt distress on the other side. Nervous, she pulled the handle and was greeted by Jane, who was in tears.

"Jane! What's wrong? Is everything alright?"

Jane sniffled loudly and threw her arms around Emma, who nervously patted her on the back.

"Jane! What is it?"

"Don't do this Emma! I don't trust him. Even Thor is having second thoughts after what happened on Earth. Please reconsider this."

Emma pulled Jane from her arms. The feeling of panic and distress was enough to be contagious. At first, she wanted to mimic her. A common response to panic. But deep down, she felt a calmness in her decision she would not allow it to touch.

"Jane, I can't. I've already given my word."

"It's not too late! I'm sure Odin and Frigga will understand. Thor already said he would back you up if you changed your mind. We all would!"

Emma smiled sadly and beckoned Jane forward. They sat down at the sitting area and she offered Jane a handkerchief.

"Jane, Please. I have to explain."

"No you don't." Jane said with a sniffle and blew her nose. "I know why you are doing this. You feel guilty and that it is your duty to help him and all of that."

Emma stared at her. "Jane, Just a few days ago, you told me that you could see that Loki and I were…" She swallowed. Still unused to the words. "…in love."

"Oh Emma, I don't know anymore. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was right. My concern is, I know what Loki has done."

"So do I."

"I know what he is capable of."

"So do I."

"But he-"

"Jane, I have spent more time in his head than he has! Believe me. I know what he is capable of. I know that there is a chance that he may just try to kill me and be done with it. But I have to take that chance. From what I have seen, and I have seen the darkest corners of his mind. The parts that even he turned away from."

Jane stared at her with red eyes. "Emma, You are my friend. I will come to see you with Thor as much as we can. But I just don't want to see you get hurt…or killed."

Emma smiled sadly. "This was my choice. I've made my decision. You are my friend too Jane. I wish I could ask you to trust me, but it is not me that you need to trust. It is Loki. And I have asked him to trust himself."

Jane stared at her. "I never…I didn't think of that before."

"No one did."

The following morning, Emma awoke bright and early. The sun was shining cheerfully and she dressed alone. Leaving her room for the last time. Her traveling cloak slung over one arm. She wore her favorite forest green and gold chased dress today. Why not wear your favorite clothes on a day like this? She made her way up to the side counsel room where she had been told to go by ten. She dined with Frigga, Odin, Thor, Jane and the others in silence. Several times, she caught the warriors three giving her a side glance of genuine concern. Lady Sif looked positively revolted but said nothing. Emma tried to stay out of their heads. She did not need to know they thought she was crazy. She already knew that.

At noon, there came a knock on the door and everyone stood up or stopped chatting. Four guards escorted Loki inside. It was the first time she had ever seen him in clothes that were not designed for a prisoner. His hair had been washed and trimmed. He cut a dashing figure…except for the high-tech handcuffs that kept his hands immobile before him, and the mask over his mouth that reminded Emma of Hannibal Lector.

He was forced to his knees before Odin and glared daggers at the guards. Emma could hear a thought within him on how glad he was that he did not have to deal with them much longer. Odin approached him.

"Loki, You are hereby to be moved today to the Island known as Haven. There you will remain until your healing has completed. But before, I believe there is one more thing we must attend to." Thor stepped forward reluctantly, as did Lady Jane. Emma stepped forward as well as the guards brought Loki to his feet roughly. Removing his handcuffs as Emma stood before him. He looked around confused and removed the mask. He turned to Emma before him and Emma for the first time caught a whiff of his scent. Surprisingly, he smelled good to her.

"What is going on?" He asked confused. The four guards behind him as Thor, Jane, Odin, Frigga and Emma stood around him.

Thor opened his hands. Inside were two golden bands. Loki stared at them for a moment and then turned to Emma. The feelings of disbelief and an overwhelming joy nearly brought tears to her eyes. Emma nodded silently, and Odin began the ceremony.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Several hours later, Emma awoke as the carriage bumped roughly over several potholes. Looking through the curtain, she noted it was nearly sunset. They had been on the road for probably six or seven hours now. Jane awoke too and looked around disoriented. There was the sound of voices outside and the carriage began to slow. Jane sat up straighter and Emma peeked out of the curtains again. There were still two guards on either side of the carriage. Ahead, she could still see Loki's carriage where Thor attended him.

"Are we there?" She asked the one guard. He merely nodded to her and the carriages stopped after a turn in the forest road. Ahead of them she could see a river. Beyond it, she gasped at the sight.

"Oh my goodness!" She breathed, and Jane peeked out of the curtain as well. A moment later, Emma heard her sudden intake of breath.

"Wow!"

Across a thin, shallow river that resembled more of a deep creek was a magnificent palace. It stood about four stories tall and was made of a gleaming white stone. It was very open, with thin, delicate columns and flowing tapestries.

"_This_ is Loki's prison? Jeez! I could break a few laws to live here!" Jane muttered. Emma glanced at her and smirked.

"Remember what happened to Martha Stewart?"

Jane nodded. "Ah yes. I forgot. The bigger deal that you are, the sweeter deal you get!"

Emma chuckled to herself at their private Earth humor and waited while Odin climbed off of one of the lead horses. A pristine white horse that stood taller than the carriages behind him. He still moved with the sprite of a young man. Emma had heard of his times called the 'Odin sleep', and wondered if that had anything to do with his youthful demeanor. She never asked, and she probably never would.

She watched as he walked to the edge of the river and swept his staff into the water Moses-style. The water then parted into a clean path and the carriages were led across to the opposite shore without even a drop catching them. Jane and Emma's carriage was escorted along a path that ran the perimeter of the island. Turning, Emma pulled the curtain back and saw that the first had stopped and the men were getting out.

"What's going on?" She asked. Emma shook her head.

"I wish I knew."

As Thor and Loki stepped out of the carriage, the water sealed shut behind them. Loki watched it amusedly. Noting the water was only about 6 feet deep or so.

"Is this supposed to deter me from leaving the island?" He asked with a smug confidence. As he stepped up to the water however, it began to swirl and rise up in front of him. Odin and Thor watched as it pushed Loki gently away, and then settled back into its calm current. Loki turned, confused.

"The river will not allow you to leave Loki. The entire island is guarded by a force you cannot see. But it is in your power to conquer someday." Odin said. Thor and Loki stared at him.

"What?" Thor asked in disbelief. Odin ignored him. Keeping his one eye on Loki.

"You must stay here Loki."

"As a prisoner." Loki interjected.

"Until you have healed."

"Healed?"

Odin nodded once. "You have always carried a great pain Loki. Even as a child. You must learn to forgive yourself. Know that when your soul has healed here, Asgard will once again be open to you. But your powers will not be returned. They have done you more harm than good. In time, you will come to see this. Your family awaits your return. But know this. Only when your love for Emma has grown beyond yourself will your soul be truly healed."

Loki looked down at the ring glinting on his left hand. It felt so new and foreign to him even still. He had been toying with it in the carriage all day long. When he looked up, he noted his father and brother were shimmering with a golden glow.

"Farewell Brother." Thor said somberly. "Until we meet again."

And in an instant, they disappeared. Only to reappear on the other side of the island with the two carriages. Jane stood beside Thor confused. Looking around, she realized where she was and stared at the island in genuine fright until Thor led her back into the carriage with a gentle nudge. Loki watched as they retreated through the forest and disappeared from sight. At first, he felt an overwhelming sense of anger at the thought of being abandoned here. But he really couldn't complain. It was far better than that tiny cell…And he really wasn't alone. Emma was here somewhere.

Turning, he stared up at the silent palace above him, then looked down the long road that wound its way out of sight into the island. Somewhere along that path, Emma waited. Taking a deep breath, he started walking. A walk that eventually turned into a run.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Emma stepped out of the carriage some distance down the road. To her right was the back entrance to the great gardens. To her left, the river flowed. Beyond that was a sunset-lit forest. A flock of birds flew overhead and disappeared. Jane stepped out of the carriage after her and looked around.

"Now what?" She asked.

Emma shook her head. "I don't know."

Jane sighed, and one of the guards turned. "Please say what you need to say. We have only a minute or two before we are summoned back to the opposite shore by Odin."

Jane and Emma turned back to each other and Jane looked as if she were about to cry. Emma felt the same way. The weight of what was happening finally falling onto her quite suddenly. She was being left here. With Loki. Her husband.

What a terrifying thought.

Jane threw her arms around Emma and squeezed tightly. Emma returned the hug and the women held each other.

"It will be alright." Jane kept saying over and over. "It will be alright."

"Yes it will." Emma whispered. Willing it to be true.

Jane suddenly felt quite…light and airy. Emma looked up and Jane seemed confused. Her entire body was shimmering. As was the carriage and the two escorting guards. Before a word was uttered, they completely disappeared. Leaving Emma standing alone on the empty road. Searching around, she saw no one. Realizing Odin must have summoned them by magic, she realized it had been done.

She was trapped here.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she set off into the gardens. Trying to find a way to not panic. Instead, she took it all in. It was absolutely beautiful. The gardens were sublime. Rivaling the Queen's own. In one corner, Loki's favorite flower bloomed in a large bush. She smiled and knew that would bring him joy when he saw it.

Suddenly aware that Loki could be along any minute, she turned around. The garden was enormous with many trees and such in the way. She was near the back of the palace now and decided to see her way around it as best she could. Stepping inside, it was a tad cooler. The floors were polished marble with large, open concept rooms. Everything was light in colors and there was light everywhere. Long, gauzy curtains hung here and there, adding a touch of gentility to the place.

She climbed a winding stair in the center of the room and found herself on the second floor, which contained a library that stretched its entirety. She kept exploring until she reached the fourth floor, which was a great balcony and master bedroom. An enormous four poster that looked a lot like the one she slept in in Asgard dominated one side of the room. The other side was a half wall with delicate columns.

Emma could see over the top of the forest here and looked out. All the way to Asgard. The sunset was stunning here, and she realized that it was the best view on the island. She stepped up to the edge and curled one hand around a column. It felt cool and smooth in her hand. Leaning her temple against it, she stared off into the distance. Lost in the beauty of the sight before her. Only starting when she felt a presence enter the room.

Turning with a jerk, Loki stood there. Dressed in a simple white linen shirt, brown pants tucked into black boots. Simple, yet handsome. Immediately, Emma read him. He was calm. A little fearful, but calm.

"Did I frighten you my lady?" He asked quietly. His green eyes searching hers as they locked across the room.

"Should I be…Sir?" She asked. Playing along with his little banter.

He smiled, but when he spoke, his voice was lower than a whisper.

"No. You have no reason to fear me."

Emma placed her back against the column for stability and watched him approach her. His proximity was loud on her senses. Perhaps it was because there was no longer a glass wall between them. Nor anyone around to protect her. He turned and saw the view. Staring off into the distance.

"Quite an impressive view." He commented and turned to the setting sun. The sky streaking orange and gold. Pink and blue beginning in the East.

"Yes. Quite."

He pressed his hands to the marble and looked down into the river unseeing. Emma read him as he did so. Better safe than sorry.

"Why did you do it?" He breathed. "Why did you agree to come here. To marry me? I am a monster, Emma."

For the first time, Emma felt the pain lance his words as he spoke them. He hated what he had done. He hated himself still. But instead of being angry at everyone now, he was coming to terms with it. His anger and hatred were beginning to turn on him. As only true enemies do.

"Because I didn't want to leave you. Not ever." She whispered.

He turned to her with his sad smile. Perhaps he meant it to be sarcastic, but it was not what Emma felt. "And why is that? Surely not out of love. How could you love someone like me?"

Emma felt her eyes grow somber and she stepped up to him. She saw and felt him tensing as she reached up and touched his cheek with her right hand.

"You are not a monster Loki. You are a man."

Silent, Emma felt the blister in his heart throbbing at her words. The one he kept rubbing his pain on. His hand crept up and covered hers. Closing his eyes in comfort.

"There is an old story that has always stuck with me. An old man was telling his grandson about the two wolves that live within us all. The good one, and the bad one. And they are always fighting."

Loki opened his eyes then and stared down at her as she stared up at him.

"Which one will win?"

Emma smiled at him gently. "Whichever one you feed."

For a long moment, they did not speak. They did not have to. Not anymore. Emma remained in his thoughts, and she knew what he wanted as much as she did. Even though he was not entirely sure what that was…

Slowly, she pulled him closer to her as he leaned down towards her. Uncertainty reeling within him as his cheeks flushed. The flames erupted within her and she gasped as their lips broke apart. Foreheads touching. She suddenly realized she was in his arms and he was holding her gently. Unsurely. But then again, she should have realized. What woman would ever look at him in the shadow of Thor? He was always cast aside. Always pushed into shadow. Opening her eyes, she realized there were tears behind her eyelids. Loki laughed out of pure joy. One single laugh that made her smile.

There was an entire world he had no idea about. And it was up to her to share it with him. To take him gently by the hand and lead him into the light. She knew then, that she had made the right choice. In one kiss, she knew his soul had birthed into something new. Something he never before imagined. Taking his face in her hands, she kissed him again and felt him melt into her. Wrapping her in his arms as the smallest of moans escaped him.

"I never knew…" He exclaimed in a breathless whisper. Grinning. But instead of that horrific mask of sadistic joy, there was actual joy. His face lit up. He was so handsome. So youthful. Tears ran from his eyes and he let them. Emma wiped them away with her thumbs and she kissed his cheeks. One at a time. He pulled her closer. Almost forcefully. She gasped at his strength as he pressed his forehead to hers once more. Emma smiled up at him and felt a fire erupt in her heart. Her blood pounding in her veins. Gently, she extracted herself mostly from his grip and pulled him away from the column and towards the bed.

"Come to bed with me Loki." She whispered.

She leaned in close and kissed him again. Slowly. Relishing in it. Teasing his lips gently. Carefully, until they opened in a gasp and she suckled his bottom lip. Emma could feel his racing hot feelings as they surged through him. His hands finding her waist again. She rode them in her own high and experienced them with him. It was like living her youth all over again. Then, as they kissed, mouths opening more and more with each frantic breath, Emma teased his upper lip with the tip of her tongue. Loki gasped and their faces flushed.

"Open your mouth again." She commanded breathlessly and when she leaned in, his mouth opened to hers and their tongues met softly. Gently. Dancing across each others sweetly. Emma moaned into his mouth at his taste, and his arms tightened around her. Her own coming up to wrap around his shoulders. Stretching herself up on tip toe to reach him. She could feel the hardness of his body pressed against her and she sighed as they paused to take a breath. It felt so right. So perfect.

Of all the men in all the universe, who would have thought that Loki was the one she was meant to be with? No one else could ever make her body sing the way his kiss did…and this was only the beginning.

Many miles away, as the night wrapped around Asgard in all its splendor, Odin lay awake in his bed. Beside him, Frigga slept peacefully for the first time in a very long while.

There was something he could feel. The stirrings of something good. He knew it was Loki…somewhere out there, he knew Loki's soul had begun its repair.

"Forgive yourself Loki." He whispered into the stillness of the night before letting sleep take him.

Loki lay awake, staring at the ceiling. The softest sound of Emma's breath against his chest. There was a feeling of peace settling within him and he glanced at her. For the first time since she had walked into his life, she was completely unprotected. Perhaps it was a fool's choice to trust him...but he realized with a jolt that she trusted him to trust himself. She had agreed to come here. To marry him. She had let him into her body…and now, she lay asleep. Helpless in his arms. If that wasn't the truest form of trust, he did not know what was. He would rather die than break that trust.

Thinking back on the hours before, he smiled to himself in sheer contentment. Reliving each detail exquisitely in his mind. If this was what he had to 'suffer' so he could heal his soul...then he would suffer everyday as often as he could.

He looked down at Emma and suddenly felt a surge of gratitude for the earth woman in his arms. She had surprised him more than anyone ever had before.

Gently, tenderly, he kissed her on the forehead and heard her exhale softly. Splaying her palm across his heart. Loki felt its beats reverberate against her hand and lay astounded by the sound and feel. Knowing that he would have let it die, if she had not brought it back to life.


End file.
